A Helping Hand
by docrock06
Summary: What if Ray had been brought to County instead, would the outcome of the accident been different with his friends working to save him? REELA.
1. Prologue

**Title: A Helping Hand**

**Author: DockRock06**

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: ****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Spoilers: Season 13's 'I Don't'**

**Content Warning: none**

**Summery: What if Ray had been brought to County instead, would the outcome of the accident been different with his friends working to save him? **

**A/N In this story Ray is not going to have left the bar until the next morning and NO construction work was going on at county, it is still up and running. Well here it is,**

* * *

**Chapter One: Prologue **

Ray was sitting at the bar, still in shock at what had happened earlier that night, _why the hell does she build my hopes up just to go running back to him? _Ray looked up to the barman and placed his money on the bar. Looking at his watch Ray seen through blurred vision that it was just after five in the morning and he had been sitting in the bar for nearly three hours.

Standing off the stool Ray stumbled slightly, and grabbed his jacket. As he was walking away Ray heard a buzzing noise and looking back to the bar he realized that it was his phone vibrating and he quickly reached over and grabbed it, looking at the screen as he stumbled out the door, as he struggled to get his jacket on and as he stepped onto the street without looking he heard a loud beep and jumped back, glaring at the large truck that zoomed past him.

Shoving his jacket on Ray stepped onto the street once again and feeling his phone once again vibrating in his hand Ray flipped it open to see that the caller ID read, Neela Rasgotra, and laughing bitterly Ray thought, _must want to toy with me more._ Suddenly Rays grasped on his phone weakened and he watched as it fell to the ground. Bending over Ray reached down to get his phone.

Before Ray had any time to register what was happening he saw a pair of bright headlights straight ahead of him, and in his drunken state didn't react as quickly as he should.

Ray felt his body hit the ground and skid about five metres along the hard ground, his face and arms ripping as they connected. But the worst pain that Ray felt was in his legs, a crushing pain, and looking down through the dizziness Ray seen that the truck that had just hit him was still on him, pinning his legs.

Ray felt his vision blurring as his life drained out of him, and before he knew it everything had went black, the last thing he heard was the sound of someone telling him that he was going to be O.K.

* * *

Morris and Pratt where standing at the admit of the E.R, discussing the events that had went on earlier in the evening.

'So I told him to go home, his probably home right now sleeping it all off…won't be in for his shift this afternoon I bet'

Pratt said as he scanned through the chart in his hand. The truth was he had felt a little guilty after he had sent Ray home on his own and he couldn't help but think that maybe he should have made sure he had gotten in a cab. Morris broke Ray out of his musings as he said,

'Well, I'm just glad that someone finally said what we were all thinking to Gates…too bad that they had to use each other as a punching bag afterwards' Morris added with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Both doctors looked up when they saw the newly wedded Mr. and Mrs. Luka Kovac walking down the hall, hand in hand, both still having to work their scheduled shifts as no one had known about the secret wedding and so nobody had been able to offer to cover. Abby and Luka were happy though as it was a quiet night in the E.R so they had spent most of their time talking and planning what they were going to do on their two weeks off.

Suddenly the calmness of the usually hectic E.R was shattered with the sound of the EMT at the dispatch station listing off the injuries of an incoming trauma,

'28 year old male, crush injuries to both legs, ETA is 5 minutes' Chuny acknowledged the call as Luka began to shout orders to the doctors, and went out to the ambulance bay with Abby to wait.

'So much for a quiet night' Abby joked, looking up at her new husband. Not too long after an ambulance pulled up, its siren blaring at his pulled to a halt next to Abby and Luka, the back doors swinging open and the EMT jumping out.

As the gurney was pulled out, Abby stepped forward and gasped, drawing the attention of Luka and she said only the one word,

'Ray'

* * *

As soon as the shock had passed Abby ran over to the head of the gurney, looking down at Rays face with was already covered in bruises and blood. Both doctors began to push the gurney inside and as they passed the admit desk Luka shouted,

'Somebody call Rays next of Kin'

This drew the attention of all of the other doctors who had been waiting in the trauma room, units of blood and saline at the ready. Pratt ran out the door and felt guilt running through him as he looked at the face of his friend, lying on the gurney and couldn't help but feel responsible.

As soon as Ray was in the trauma room Luka again began to bark out orders, remembering the last time which he had worked on a co-worker, back when he had only started at county, and he wasn't going to let the same thing happen again.

'O.K on my count _gently_ move him…one…two…three!' With that Abby, Luka, Pratt and Morris transferred Ray from one gurney to the next. Quickly Haleh was at the head of the bed, using the ampu bag to force airs into Ray weakened body.

Luka had moved to the end of the bed and after pulling of Ray's shoes and cutting up the legs of his pants he was trying to assess the damage that had been done. On both legs the tibia had ripped right through the skin, probably shredding a vein or an artery and that was why he was losing so much blood.

'Somebody call surgery now! And start another unit of blood!' Luka yelled.

At the other end of the bed Abby had ripped open Rays shirt, revealing a torso that was littered with bruises and cuts, most of his ribs probably cracked from the fall which he had no doubt taken when he was knocked down by whatever had crushed him.

'BP's dropping, 60/120' said Haleh as she stood at the top of the bed. And in a flash Morris had moved over, an intubation blade in his hand as he skillfully inserted the tube into Ray's mouth and down his throat, trying to give his broken body a better chance of survival.

Pratt was standing at the top of the bed beside Abby, using the X-Ray machine to see how much damage had been cause to both his torso and face, while Luka was still working on stopping the bleeding coming from Ray's legs, a sickening amount of gauze piling up on the floor.

* * *

Not soon enough Dr. Anspaugh, the hospitals longest working surgeon came walking through the doors, followed by a now sober Lucien Dubenko, who had thankfully left the party not long after he had told Neela he loved her and had slept it all off.

'I heard we had one of our own, wanted to make sure that he got the best care'

Both surgeons quickly walked over to the bed, assessing the damaging and planning what the best course of action was.

After a quick assessment, Donald Anspaugh turned to Luka and said in a sympathetic tone,

'The crush injuries are very severe, we'll do our best but I think that we might have to do an amputation'

Abby felt tears running down her face, the thought of that happening to one of her closet friends.

Luka looked down at Ray and turned to Donald as he said,

'You have to try Donald'

'I will, so come on, will you be assisting?' Anspaugh asked as Luka, Dubenko and himself unlocked the wheels of the gurney and began to wheel it to the elevator.

Standing in the trauma room, Pratt turned to Morris and Abby, and said to them in a shaky voice, not even trying to hold back his tears,

'I think I need to phone Neela'

* * *

**A/N Well there you go Chapter 1! I hope that you don't hate me too much for the cliffy, but lots of nice reviews and I will update soon!**


	2. You have to fight this

**Title: A Helping Hand**

**Author: DockRock06**

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: ****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Spoilers: Season 13's 'I Don't'**

**Content Warning: none**

**Summery: What if Ray had been brought to County instead, would the outcome of the accident been different with his friends working to save him? **

* * *

**Chapter Two: You Have To Fight This**

Abby quickly dried the tears from her face as she turned to Pratt and said,

'I'll do it…I can get her down here without worrying her.', and with that Abby left the room and went to the admit desk to phone one friend and try and get them here in time for another.

As Abby approached the desk Chuny turned to her and said,

'I phoned Ray's mother, she says that she'll be on the next flight out.', and Abby couldn't miss the waver in Chunys voice as she relayed the information.

'Thanks Chuny, I just have to phone Neela now…I know that she would want to know too.' And with that Abby lifted the receiver to her ear and punched in the number that she new off by heart.

After hearing the dialing tone for a few seconds Abby heard Neela on the other line saying,

'Hello Neela Ras' and before Neela could even finish her sentence Abby cut her off by saying,

'Neela, honey, it's Abby. I'll explain to you when you get here but you have to get to county right now' Abby didn't want to panic Neela, but after seeing Ray she knew that anything could happen and Neela may not get to see him, and she knew that more than anything would break her friends heart. If she didn't get to say good-bye to the man that she loved.

'O.K Abby…is there a big trauma because I think that I might be a little drunk, so I cant work…and it is going on for five in the morning' Neela answered, thinking that maybe she was needed to do surgery.

'No, they don't need you to work. You just have to get down here, _right now_' and before Neela even had the chance to argue Abby set the phone down, knowing that Neela wouldn't get here if she was stuck on the phone with her.

Running a hand through her hair Abby turned to see Morris and Pratt walking up to the admit, both looking just as they felt, terrible. All three doctors stood in silence, not knowing what to say.

* * *

_Up In Surgery_

Luka was standing at the head of the bed as the anesthesiologist inserted the drug into Ray's IV as the other doctors all finished scrubbing up and made there way into the operating room, all anxious because they knew that a lot of people where counting on them to save their friend who was lying on the table.

Moving down the bed Luka watched as both doctors Anspaugh and Dubenko began to work on stopping the bleeding in Rays legs, and was horrified as he heard one order another unit of blood, Luka had already counted six.

'Damn! He's cut through the radial vein…probably whys he losing so much blood' announced Donald Anspaugh as he found the source of one of the major problems.

Luka turned to look at the face of his friend, a tube down his throat that looked so barbaric even though he had done it to a countless numbers of patients since he had worked at county, larges cuts covering his face, especially the left side, and also a littering of bruises and Luka began to silently pray under his breath that Ray would be alright.

* * *

_Back At Admit_

Abby looked up at she heard the noise of the doors open, revealing a rather tired looking Neela Rasgotra.

'Abby, what is it, why did you need me down here straight away, the place looks dead' Neela said as she gestured to the waiting room, only a handful of people sitting in it.

'I think that you should come with me sweetie, let's go to the doctors' lounge' Abby said as she stepped to the front of the desk and began to lead Neela away but was stopped when her hand was shrugged off.

'What, why? What's going on Abby, just tell me' Neela demanded, starting to get worried.

'I really think that you should come with me Neela' Abby tried once again, but was still unsuccessful.

'No! Just tell me what it is' and the look in Neelas eyes showed Abby that she was determined not to move until she was told exactly what was going on. Taking a deep breath Abby began,

'Earlier…there was an accident, and Ray was brought in…he was in pretty bad shape, their up in the O.R now'

Abby watched as the tears fell down Neelas face and she began shaking her head, not wanting to believe that anything had happened. Suddenly Neela picked up on what Abby had said and asked,

'Why is he in the O.R…what exactly happened?' Neela had now moved to sit down at admit, her legs feeling like they were about to give way from under her.

Abby moved to kneel in front of Neela and just when she opened her mouth to explain Pratt cut her off by saying,

'It's all my fault Neela, if I had just made sure that he had gotten in the taxi…I'm sorry Neela' Pratt finished, his head bowed so he didn't have to see the anger that _he_ was sure would be written all over Neelas face.

'What do you mean? You told him to go home, did he not go?' The lump had returned to Neelas throat as she thought about all of the terrible things that could have happened.

Abby knew that she needed to know and so she said as well as she could, a lump in her throat as well after seeing Ray,

'He was hit by a truck…his legs were crushed and Dubenko and Anspaugh are doing everything that they can to try and save him…but they think that they might have to amputate' , and Abby felt more tears well up at the sight of one of her closet friends crying over another.

Standing up Neela wiped at her eyes and turned to Abby saying,

'Which O.R, I want to see him'

* * *

_Back in Surgery_

Luka was back at the head of the bed, watching the monitors as the line beeped, showing the sign that Ray was in fact still alive.

After watching for about five minutes Luka alerted the other doctors as he watched the B/P dropping at an alarming rate, due to the massage amount of blood that Ray was still losing.

'B/Ps dropping…FLATLINE!' With that Luka moved to the side of the bed, stepping up and beginning compressions, watching the monitor the whole time.

Luka stepped back as one of the other doctors called out to him to move, putting the paddles on Ray's chest and sending 200 joules of energy through his body, causing him to rise off the bed and slam back down with a dull thud.

* * *

Neela and Abby got off the elevator and went straight to the reception desk,

'Which O.R is Ray Barnett in?' Neela demanded, looking to the face of the receptionist, who look startled by the demand.

'He's in O.R 2 Dr. Rasgotra' and with that Abby and Neela both went to the observation area, hoping that they would be able to see how Ray was doing.

* * *

**Rays POV**

When Ray opened his eyes, he was standing in the O.R, for a reason he didn't know. Looking around the people at the table he saw that DuBenko was there, as well as Luka who was doing compressions to the patient on the table.

Ray turned his head when he heard someone scream from behind him, and when he looked up to the observation room he saw that it was Neela and Abby, both standing with tears running down their faces, Abby trying to get Neela to sit down.

Ray turned and ran past the nurse who was walking into to the O.R at the same moment that he had left, rushing through the opened door and round to the doorway of the observation room. Ray watched through the open door as Neela was standing at the glass and he heard her say, 'Please, you have to fight this' through her sobs and wondered what had happened to upset her so much. Walking through the door Ray called to Neela,

'Neela, what's wrong, what happened?', and he was taken back when not only did she or Abby not answer him, but neither of them even turned their heads to acknowledge the fact that he was even in the room.

Just as Ray opened his mouth to repeat his question he was brought to his knees when he felt a searing pain rip right through his chest, and with his hand clutched to his chest, he turned to look out the window of the observation room and felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of who was on the table, _him_.

Ray pushed himself off his knees and ran back to the O.R and straight over to the bed where he could see Luka was standing on the side of the bed, doing compressions, _on me._

Ray couldn't believe what he was seeing as he looked at himself lying on the operating table, cuts and bruises covering his face, arms and torso. But what made him feel nauseous the most was the sight of his legs; they were covered in blood with the bones sticking out of them.

Ray watched as the doctor readied the paddles over the chest of his broken body once more, and as he felt the pain ripped through his chest once more sending him again to his knees, Ray felt his eyes close and the last thing that he saw was black.

**End of Rays POV**

* * *

****

Luka watched the monitor and let out a breath which he didn't even know he was holding as the nurse called out,

'Sinus tach', and he looked down into the face of his friend, in his mind saying, _that's right Ray, you have to keep fighting._

Moving down the bed Luka stood beside Dubenko,

'So how bad is the damage? Can you fix it?' asked a hopeful Luka; not wanting to have to watch what would happen if DuBenko said no.

Before Lucien even had a chance to answer, Donald spoke, never once stopping what he was doing,

'I think that we might have just got him here in time.'

* * *

Neela and Abby were both sitting in the observation room, and after hearing Donald Anspaugh's words, Neela and Abby both felt tears of relief falling down their faces. Even though they both knew that Ray wasn't out of the woods yet, as there was still going to be the long surgery to fix his legs and the therapy and physiotherapy afterwards, they were both glad that he didn't have to wake up and find out that they couldn't save his legs.

And the only thing that Neela said to Abby as they sat watching the surgeons working was,

'I'm going to help him through this'

* * *

**Well there you go, Chapter 2! Hope that you liked it and please review and let me know what you think.**


	3. Open Your Eyes

**Title: A Helping Hand**

**Author: DockRock06**

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: ****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Spoilers: Season 13's 'I Don't'**

**Content Warning: none**

**Summery: What if Ray had been brought to County instead, would the outcome of the accident been different with his friends working to save him? **

**A/N I want to thank navybrat1972 who helped gave me some advice on the last chapter, so here it is:**

**THANK YOU!**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Open Your Eyes**

It had been seven hours since Ray had first been brought into the O.R, and after Dubenko and Anspaugh had successfully stopped the bleeding after repairing the sliced popliteal vein and arteries. It had taken a total of 12 units of blood since he had arrived at county, but now he was being wheeled to the SICU where he would stay for a few days before being moved down to a private room to start his rehab.

As soon as Neela and Abby seen Ray being wheeled out, both women immediately got off their seats and began to follow the bed into the room, and they waited patiently as the doctors and nurses got Ray settled in and make sure that he was fine before leaving the two women to be with their friend.

Neela quickly walked over to the bed and felt the warm, salty tears fall from her eyes and down her face unchecked as she looked at her former roommate. His face was pale, despite the large gashes and bruises which covered the majority of the left side of his face, and he had an I.V in his hand and his arm to supply him with medication and fluids. He was also still intubated, his body still not strong enough to breath on its own after the ordeal, but the doctors where hopeful that it would only be until he woke up. Taking his hand in her own Neela noticed how cold it was and she began to unconsciously rub her thumb back and forward over his hand, just like he had done at Abby and Lukas wedding, as she spoke quietly,

'Hi Ray…me and Abby are both here…I was so worried about you' Neela paused and took a deep breath before she continued, 'I want you to know that I'm going to help you through this'

Still holding his hand Neela sat down, feeling the drain taking over after watching the surgeons work on Ray for seven hours straight. She had been devastated when she had seen Ray's body give up and the doctors having to shock him to bring him back, the thought of him not knowing how much she loved him shattering her heart.

Both women where sitting in the two chairs beside the bed when the door opened quietly to reveal a very tired looking Luka. Walking over behind his wife, Luka leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, and pulled over an empty chair from the side of the room to sit beside the two women as they all watched there friend lying in the bed.

Neela was watching as Rays chest was made to rise and fall by the machine, and she remembered back to all of the times when they were roomies and she and Ray would be watching something on T.V and he would fall asleep. The first time he had fallen asleep beside her Neela had been mesmerized by the fact that Ray looked so young and peaceful in his sleep, and she gave a small smile as she remembered that she had also found it weird that he was so quiet when he was asleep, only the occasional soft snore along with the gentle rise and fall of his chest, quite different from how he normally was when he was awake. Always taking and smiling, not that Neela thought that was a bad thing. She had always found his smile captivating, the way he would look at you with beautifully white teeth and sparkling green eyes. It was one of her favorite things about him.

Abby had noticed Neela's smile and wondering why she would be smiling when she had been so devastated earlier. Not wanting to startle her friend Abby said quietly,

'Why are you smiling?'

Neela felt a slight blush rise to her face, _I can hardly tell her that I was smiling because I remember all of the times that I used to sit and __**stare**__ at Ray while he was asleep, can I? She'll think I'm nuts! _Keeping her eyes on Ray the whole time, Neela simply stated,

'Just remembering all of the good times when I lived with Ray'

Abby turned and looked at Luka, his eyes looking heavy with exhaustion and got stood up from her chair, Luka following suit,

'We have to get back to Joe, but call us if anything changes' Abby said as she gave her friend a hug and quietly left the room, followed by her husband who also gave Neela a hug before leaving with his wife.

* * *

Neela didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but she knew that it had been a good few hours because the parade of nurses that had been in to check on Ray had been more than a dozen times. Neela heard the door opening again, and thinking that it was probably just another nurse in to check on Ray she kept her eyes on his face, not bothering to turn around.

'Hey Mayday, how you feeling?'

Neela shot her head round at the sound of the voice of none other than Tony Gates.

'What do you mean, _how am I feeling? _How would you feel if your best friend had just nearly lost his legs and may never walk again?' Neela spat out, her eyes looking at Tony with more hate than she had ever felt.

Neela turned her face back to Ray; not wanting to look at the man whom she felt was partially responsible for all of this. Of course she knew that it was also her fault, if she hadn't led Ray on then he wouldn't have gotten drunk in the first place. But she knew that she couldn't dwell on that, she had to focus on getting Ray better.

Tony walked into the room, not very far but close enough to see enough of Ray and have the decency to feel a bit shameful and guilty.

'Listen Mayday I'

'_Don't call me that'_ Neela spat out, the only man she ever allowed to call her a silly nickname was lying in a hospital bed and she didn't want to hear one that she at the moment wanted nowhere near her trying to sweet talk her.

'Okay, _Neela_ 'and Gates purposely annunciated her name, making sure to get his point across, 'I just came up here to see how you were, make sure that you were alright'

'Well I am, so you can go', and Neela didn't turn her head, but she heard the door open and shut quietly and was glad that he was gone. She didn't know what she would have said next if he hadn't left, but she knew one thing, it wouldn't have been nice.

'Listen Ray, I don't know if you can hear me…but I want you to know that I'm sorry, for all of this, I wish that I had told you how I felt sooner…but I'm going to get you better, Okay'

Neela leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the back of Ray's hand, wishing that when he woke up he would be O.K.

* * *

Neela had just got back from the bathroom, she hadn't wanted to leave Rays side, but when the nurses had came back to check on him she had asked them to wait until she went to the bathroom, not wanting him to be alone for a single second.

As Neela neared the room again she noticed that two if the nurses she had asked to stay where standing at the reception desk, and angered at the fact that they had left him after she had asked them to stay she purposely strode up to them and said,

'Why did you leave, I ask you to stay and I would be back in a minute'

Neela waited for the cock and bull excuse of something coming up, so when the nurse told her the reason, she couldn't say that she wasn't surprised.

'His mothers here. She's in with him now'

Neela apologized to the nurse and turned and walked to the room. Stopping just outside the door Neela felt her heart break at the sight before her.

Rays mother was standing at the side of the bed with his hand clutched up to her chest, tears falling from her eyes as she brokenly said,

'My poor baby, why did this happen?'

Neela gently knocked the door, not wanting to just intrude on the obviously emotional moment.

'Oh, honey come in.' Mrs. Barnett said as she wiped the tears from her eyes and sat down in the seat beside the bed, her sons hand still held tightly in her own.

Neela walked over and sat in the empty seat beside Rays mother,

'I'm Neela Rasgotra, I was Rays roommate' _before I moved out because I was guilty for loving him too much _Neela added in her mind.

'Oh, yes…Ray mentioned you; he said that you were the best roommate that he ever had.' Mrs. Barnett paused before she continued, 'It's good that he has such nice friends that are their for him'

Neela smiled back, and she didn't know if it was because of the fact that Rays mother had a soft southern accent just like him that made her hard not to like, or the fact that Ray had mentioned her to his mother and called her, 'the best roommate he had ever had'

'We certainly will be Mrs. Barnett. I going to help Ray through this 110' and Neela meant it. She was going to do whatever it was that he needed her to until he was better.

'Oh, please honey; call me Jacy, no Mrs. Barnett. Anyone who is going to help my baby through this is a friend of mine'

Neela was just about to answer when her attention was brought to the bed as she was certain that she had saw Rays hand move.

* * *

_**Rays POV**_

All he was aware of was pain all over his body, especially in his legs.

The last thing which he remembered was walking out of the bar and seeing a pair of headlights coming towards him…and that was it, he couldn't remember anything after that.

He tried to open his mouth to ask what had happened when he heard what sounded like familiar voices talking, but quickly found out that he couldn't, as there was something sticking down his throat and stopping him from doing that.

Raising his hand to his mouth Ray felt something plastic, and also felt another hand wrap loosely around his wrist as they commanded him to open his eyes. Ray tried but found that he couldn't, but he knew that he wanted to, he wanted to see if the voice that was telling him to 'open his eyes' was Neela or if it was someone that sounded an awful lot like Neela.

Trying once again Ray slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by an onslaught of bright light, causing his eyes to water as he tried to focus his gaze on whoever it was that was standing over him.

As his eyes came into focus Ray felt his eyes well up as he realized that it _was_ Neela who had been calling to him, and he felt confusion take over as he noticed her tear stained face as she smiled down at him.

'Your going to be O.K Ray…I'll just go and get the nurse to take that out'

Ray watched as Neelas face left his line of sight, but she quickly was back in it again to say,

'You mothers here' and then she was gone again, only to be replaced by the face of his mother, who he hadn't seen in three years.

_Why's she here? And why am I in the hospital, what the hell happened?_

_**End Of Ray's POV**_

* * *

****

As soon as Neela had seen Rays hand move towards the tube and his fingers weakly wrap around it she was out of her seat and holding his wrist gently so as he would stop trying to pull the tube out and hurt himself.

'Ray, open your eyes' Neela watched as Ray struggled to try to open his eyes, and failed.

'Come on Ray, I need you to open your eyes for me' and Neela felt tears running down her face as she looked into the beautiful green eyes of the man she loved. She also didn't miss the sight of tears that welled up in the bottom of his eyes, threatening to spill over but not, as he gazed up at her.

'Your going to be O.K Ray…I'll just go and get the nurse to take that out' Neela said as she stepped back to go and get Rays doctor and nurse, knowing that he would want that out of his throat as soon as possible, no doubt it was uncomfortable.

Nearly forgetting in her joy at Ray being awake Neela stepped back again and said,

'Your mothers here' and with that she left and went down the hall in search of Dubenko and Anspaugh.

Jacy Barnett stood up and held her hands son in her own as she ran her other hand gently through his hair, brushing it off his forehead.

'Its O.K baby…your gonna be O.K' and with that Jacy leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her sons forehead, glad that he was finally awake.

* * *

**A/N Well I hope that you all liked that chapter…and the fact that Neela gave Gates a verbal beat down! Please review and let me know what you think!**


	4. Her Song

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: ****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**I made a video for the song used further down and heres the address:**

**http://ie. watch it and tell me what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Her Song**

Ray was lying in the bed, listening to the sounds of all of the machines which where surrounding him, the machines which he was hooked up to. He still couldn't remember what had happened and that scared him. His mother had obviously noticed the look of apprehension that had crossed his face and shone clearly through his eyes because she took his hand in her own and whispered to him,

'I know that I haven't been there for you a lot of the times that I should have. But I promise you that I'm going to help you through this, no matter what it takes'

Not being able to actually speak as he still had the ET tube in his mouth, Ray simply turned the hand which his mother was holding over and lightly wrapped his fingers around hers and gave it a slight squeeze.

Ray heard the sound of footsteps and suddenly the face of his mother was replaced by the face of none other than Lucien Dubenko.

'Welcome back Dr. Barnett, I'm just going to check you over and then we'll see about taking that tube out, O.K'

Ray lay there as Dubenko did the standard check, listening to his chest and checking his pulse, finding it all rather boring and just wanting to get the tube out. But his thoughts where interrupted when he felt a pain like nothing he had ever felt before in his legs as Dubenko touched it, and he couldn't stop himself from squeezing his eyes shut in pain and sticking his nails into his hands, certain that he was going to draw blood.

'Sorry Ray, I just have to check the wounds.' Said Dubenko in an apologetic voice as he looked at Ray, his face a picture of agony.

After looking at the other leg, Dubenko returned to the top of the bed.

'O.K, everything seems to be fine, so we can take the tube out. You know the drill, big breath in and blow out on three. One…two…three!' And with that Dubenko swiftly removed the tube and placed an oxygen mask over a now coughing Ray's mouth, and telling him to take slow, deep breaths.

As soon as Ray's breathing had returned to normal Dubenko lifted the head of the bed up and fraction, knowing that Ray wouldn't want to have everyone hovering over him.

Dubenko turned to Ray, immediately noticing the confusion on his face, and he knew what Ray was certain to ask. He was also sure that Neela would want to tell him, and break it to him gently so he excused himself from the room, wanting to give the three some privacy.

'I'll be by to check on you later Ray. Just try and get some rest' and Dubenko left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Ray turned his face to Neela and his mother, both who where standing right beside his bed, and said to them in a horse voice,

'What happened?' Ray didn't miss the look that passed over both the women's faces, it was a look of worry, _but why would they be worried? _

Neela looked to Jacy, and then to Ray as she said,

'You where in a car accident Ray. The truck that hit you' Neela paused and took a breath as she tried to think of the best way to tell Ray about his injuries and the fact that he would have to get learn to walk again. She knew that it was probably just telling him straight; knowing that skirting around the question would just make him more anxious. 'It crushed your legs, and there was a lot of bleeding. You were brought here and they had you in surgery for over seven hours…they fixed your legs really well.'

Ray sat and tried to digest what Neela had just said. _My legs where crushed! That means that I won't be able to walk_. Ray lifted his eyes and looked to Neela, feeling tears welling in them once again but threatening to let them fall as he said,

'Does that mean that I won't' Ray paused as he felt a lump form in his throat. Pushing it down Ray continued, 'that I won't be able to walk again?'

But before Neela even had a chance to answer, Jacy had bent down and wrapped her arms around her son and she said,

'No baby, your strong and you can get through this'

Neela noted that Jacy was probably saying this to herself as well, not wanting to think the worst case scenario, and just wanting her son to be back to the way that he was before.

'No Ray, you'll get physiotherapy and you'll walk again' Neela said as she picked his hand up in her own, and gave it a reassuring squeeze as she looked at him through tears in her own eyes now, still not believing what had happened. The reality of the situation only hitting her when Ray had asked the question whether or not he would walk again.

* * *

It had been several hours since Ray had woken up and the nurse had just been in and given Ray another dose of morphine to help with the pain. Neela couldn't help but feel guilty every time that she saw Ray wince of squeeze his eyes shut against the pain as he shifted slightly on the bed to try and get more comfortable, but only causing his legs to shot with a pain like hot pokers where being pressed against the skin of them.

Neela watched as Rays eyes slowly drifted shut, and she felt relieved that he could get a reprieve from the pain. She knew that he wouldn't be feeling better for at least another few days when some of the others injuries had healed and she just couldn't pray that those days would pass quickly.

The first thing that Neela had done the first time that Ray had fallen asleep was phone down to the E.R and tell them that Ray was awake. She had also said that he didn't need any visitors at the moment as he was still exhausted and in a lot of pain so she had received a lot of best wishes and 'get well soon's from people who were hoping to make it up over the next few days.

Neela was interrupted from her musings as she felt Jacys hand on her arm as she quietly said,

'Why don't you go home and get some rest honey, he'll be asleep for most of the night'

Neela was going to protest, but when she seen the look on Jacy's face and knew that her reasons where true she agreed. Before she went to the door Neela walked over to Rays bed, and taking his hand in her own she leaned down and placed a soft kiss, careful not to wake him, on his neck, before turning and giving Jacy a hug and telling her that she could come and stay with her and Ray while she was in Chicago.

* * *

Neela stepped off the elevator as it reached the E.R and the first person whom she saw was Pratt and Morris, who came walking over to her quickly, Morris saying,

'So how is he?' And Neela heard the emotion and concern in Archie's voice,

'Well, he's asleep now after another dose of morphine. Still in a lot of pain though'

After a small discussion about going to visit Ray later in the week Pratt turned to Neela and said,

'He's really lucky to have you Neela and you him' and Neela felt her heart swell at the sound of those words. She had always thought that Pratt would hate the idea of her getting into a relationship with Ray, but now he was telling her that they were lucky to have each other, and she could only nod with a smile on her face before she said goodbye and went outside to get a cab and go home to get some much needed rest.

* * *

Stepping into her apartment Neela walked over and flopped down on the couch, kicking her shoes off and pulling the blanket on the back over herself, too exhausted to walk any further to her room.

Neela had only been asleep for a few hours when she woke again, her mind too full to allow her to sleep. Pushing the blanket off her Neela walked to the kitchen and turned on the tap and got herself a drink of water.

Walking back to the couch Neela noticed the small black bag that she had brought to the wedding and remembered the C.D that Ray had given her on the roof. Reaching into the bag Neela pulled it out and walked over to the C.D player, and placed the disc inside.

Sitting on the couch Neela listened to the songs on the C.D, and just like Ray had said some of them where ones they had listened to when they had been roommates, times when there was nothing to watch on T.V so they would just lie on the couch and listening to the words of the songs. Neela smiled as the C.D played one of Ray's songs that was Neela's favorite. She loved the way his voice sounded in it and as she listened she closed her eyes and imagined him singing it, just like the night when he had invited her to one of his gigs after work. It had been one of the best nights that she could remember and she loved that it had been with Ray.

Neela opened her eyes as she heard the beginning of a song which she had never heard before, and her mind drifted back to what Ray had told her, '_one of them's about you'_

It was a lot softer than all of the other songs of Rays that she had heard, most of them about heartbreak, as one time Ray had told her it's the easiest to write about, love and heartbreak, and as she listened to the words she tried to see if this was in fact, her song,

_She said "I've gotta be honest,  
You're wasting your time if you're fishing round here."  
And I said "you must be mistaken,  
I'm not fooling... this feeling is real"  
She said "you gotta be crazy,  
What do you take me for? Some kind of easy mark?  
"You've got wits, you've got looks,  
You've got passion, but I swear that you've got me all wrong_

_All wrong.  
All wrong.  
But you got me..._

As Neela listened, she thought how she wished that she did have Ray, to be hers and hers only.

_I'll be true, I'll be useful...  
I'll be cavalier...i'll be yours my dear.  
And I'll belong to you...  
If you'll just let me through.  
This is easy as lovers go,  
So don't complicate it by hesitating.  
And this is wonderful as loving goes,  
This is tailor-made, whats the sense in waiting?_

Why did I wait? Why didn't I just tell him how I felt, then maybe all of this wouldn't have happened and he could have been mine, and I just hope that maybe he'll still let me make him mine.

Neela remembered back to the night in the car when they had shared their very first kiss. It had been the best kiss that she had ever had, so gentle and caring and full of love. She had had him that night, and him her, but she now wished that she had gotten the courage to take it further than just one kiss, and not have made him wait.

_I'll be true, I'll be useful...  
I'll be cavalier...i'll be yours my dear.  
And I'll belong to you...  
If you'll just let me through.  
This is easy as lovers go,  
So don't complicate it by hesitating.  
And this is wonderful as loving goes,  
This is tailor-made, whats the sense in waiting?  
This is easy as lovers go,  
So don't complicate it by hesitating.  
And this is wonderful as loving goes,  
This is tailor-made, whats the sense in waiting?_

Hearing his voice as it ask, why not now, she wished that she had have done something sooner. But as she had sat there listening to his song for her, _her song_, she decided that she was going to tell him how she felt, and she was going to help him get better, no matter what it took.

* * *

**Well I hope that you liked this chapter…and please tell me what you think, good or bad!**


	5. All Pain, No Gain?

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: ****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N This story is not beta-read…so all of the mistakes are mine, so you have to blame me…but please be kind!**

* * *

**Chapter Five: All Pain, No Gain?**

It was a few days since Ray had been in the accident and he was doing quite well. Dubenko had said that his legs were healing well, and so were the contusions on his face, so maybe in another week or two he would be able to start the physiotherapy. Although from his medical background Ray knew that this was great news, the patient side of him was scared that it was too soon. His legs were still very sore and he didn't like the idea of having to stand on them at the moment, let along walk.

Resting his head on the pillow Ray was about to shut his eyes to get some more rest, when he heard the sound of the door opening and looked to see that it was Pratt and Morris who were up to visit him. Waving his hand to gesture them in Ray watched as both men wearily took a seat beside the bed, neither saying anything.

'Did you just come up here to look and see how pretty I am?' Ray joked, trying to break the silence, and succeeding.

'Yeah, we couldn't stand another day of not seeing your handsome face, I'm thinking of getting a picture to help me through the long and lonely nights' Pratt deadpanned, earning a laugh from both Morris and Ray.

'Well maybe you can wait till I don't look like road kill'

Even though Ray had meant it as a joke, he didn't miss the look of shame and guilt that crossed over both of the older men's faces.

'I'm sorry man, for everything' Pratt said quietly, looking up at Ray with guilty eyes.

Ray couldn't believe what he was hearing, _what's he apologizing for, he didn't do anything._

'Why are you sorry?' Ray asked with a slight waver in his voice.

'For _this'_ Pratt said, gesturing to Ray lying in the bed, 'for your accident, if I had of made you'

Ray cut Pratt off, saying in a stern voice,

'No. If I hadn't gotten drunk and jealous. I'm not dead, I'll be fine' _Will I? _Ray added as an afterthought, not wanting to actually voice how he was feeling.

The uncomfortable silence once again enveloped the room, only this time it was the sound of beepers going off that broke it.

'Ahh, sorry man, we gotta go. Be by to see you later?' Pratt said the last part as a question, not wanting to intrude on Ray if he didn't want him there. He had only come by now to tell Ray he was sorry, and if Ray didn't want to talk to him then he wouldn't blame him.

'Sure man. Stop by anytime, I won't be going anywhere' Ray lightly laughed at his attempt at a joke, only Pratt could see the pain reflected clearly in the young mans eyes, not wanting people to know how much the situation was paining him. Ray was normally the type of guy who was always running around and doing something, but now he was stuck in a bed, unable to walk for God knows how long. He knew that had to be hard and felt the all too familiar feeling of guilt settle in his stomach once more.

Leaning forward to give Ray a quick hug, Pratt and Morris then made their way back to the E.R.

* * *

After they had left Ray let his head settle back against the pillows, feeling all of his energy being drained from him, both physically and emotionally. He hated the look in Pratt's eyes when he had apologized for Ray's accident, because the truth was, Ray didn't really blame anyone but himself. He knew that a lot of people probably thought that they were the one's to blame, but Ray knew that if he had just went home like Pratt had told him to then he wouldn't be lying in the hospital bed with his legs bandaged up and his next few weeks consisting of therapy sessions and other things he didn't even have the energy to think about.

Ray moved to shift himself in the bed, his back feeling stiff from lying in the one position for the better part of the morning. Putting his weight on his hands, Ray tried levering his upper body and shifting it, but had to stop when he felt a pain tearing through his legs, and making him instantly drop back onto the bed. As he felt the pain and nausea, he squeezed his eyes shut to try and push them back, but soon felt tears of pain sliding from under his closed lids, his breath coming out in short gasps as he tried to get a control on the unbelievable pain he was suffering at that very instant.

Neela had just finished her shift and was in the lift going up to see Ray. She hadn't gotten a break long enough all day and so was glad that it was still early and he would most likely be awake when she got there. Walking down the hall which led to his room Neela stopped in shock before quickly rushing over to Rays side when she seen the look of agony on his face, his eyes squeezed shut in pain.

As she neared closer Neela noticed the tears that were sliding down his cheeks and his pained breaths as he was obviously trying to stop the pain which he was in no doubt in.

Gently pulling Ray into a hug, Neela rubbed her hand softly up and down his back as she murmured, 'shush' and 'it's O.K' quietly into Rays ear and she couldn't fight her own tears as she felt him holding onto her, his grip tight as he tried to fight the pain, not that she cared because she just wanted for him to stop hurting at that moment. Feeling him relax Neela still held onto Ray, and listened as he said in a choked voice, his breath barely above a whisper,

'It just hurts so much' and with those few words Neela felt her heart shatter, wishing that he never had to go through pain like this. But Neela knew that over the next few weeks, this was going to be it for Ray, and she vowed to herself that she was going to be with him every step of the way, even if it meant having to lie to get off her shift just so she could be with him when he was at his physiotherapy sessions. She had promised him that she was going to be there for him and she intended on keeping that promise.

Pulling back Neela gently rubbed her thumbs over Ray's cheeks, wiping away the remainder of the tears, before sitting in the chair beside his bed.

'Are you O.K now, or do you want me to go get the nurse for more pain medication?' Neela asked as she looked at Ray.

'It's fine now, just moved too fast' Ray said quietly as he plucked at the blanket, not wanting to look at Neela. He had never cried in front of her and he felt embarrassed by the fact that she had held him while he had cried as if he were only a child.

'O.K, but if you need anything tell me' Neela watched as Ray nodded his head.

Standing out of her seat, Neela walked over to the bed and picked Rays hand up in her own,

'You know that when I said I was going to help you through this that I meant every step of the way, right?' Neela asked, looking into Rays green eyes, still shiny from the tears, and making him look even more vulnerable.

'Yeah…although I think my steps may be figurative for a while' Ray said, another attempt at humor to try and hide the pain which he was in. Only Neela wasn't as flippant as Pratt and put her hand on the side of Rays neck as she said,

'Don't do that Ray. Don't try and make it seem like you're fine when you're not. We're all here to help you through this, you don't have to put up a cover, of course you're going to be hurting and in pain, and the thought of the next few weeks killing you. But you can talk to us Ray, don't think that you can't' Neela said in a gentle tone, trying to convince Ray that she wasn't the only one who was going to be there for him, whether he believed it or not.

Ray nodded his head slowly in a reply, before saying in a gentle voice, a small smile on his face,

'I guess I could use that morphine then'

* * *

**A/N There you go, Chapter 5! Hope that you all like it and please review and let me know what you think!**


	6. Hard Day

**A/N I want to start with saying 'SORRY!' for not updating in ages, but I had no clue what to write for this chapter…but now I have a plan for the whole story wrote down so they should be no problem! LOL**

**Well I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint and thanks to all of those who reviewed the last chapter, because they were great! **

**I also want to take this point to say, that the information about the physiotherapy is only the little that I could find, so if anybody sees any mistakes or knows anything that I left out, I would appreciate it if you told me and I could change it or add it in, thanks!**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Hard Day**

* * *

It was the day that Ray was due to have his first physiotherapy session, and he would be a liar if he said that he wasn't scared. He had lay awake the night before worrying if it was going to be too much, too soon. He had finally fell asleep after another dose of morphine, but now he was awake again, and the niggling worm of worry had wriggled its way back into his mind, and was beginning to make him feel ill.

Ray was interrupted from these thoughts however, when he heard the sound of knocking on the door to his room, and the door was opened to reveal his mother, her face shinnying with the smile that she always reserved for him. Walking into the room, Jacy Barnett wrapped her arms around her son, careful not to hurt his ribs, although most of them had healed considerably by now, they were still tender. Pulling back, Jacy put her hand on the side of his face, and sat on the very edge of the bed, careful not to agitate his injuries.

'Is it fine if I sit here sweetie, are you comfortable?' Jacy asked in a worried voice, wanting to make sure she wasn't causing Ray any unnecessary pain.

Shaking his head, Ray lifted his hand to hold his mothers, the one that was caressing his face. In a quiet voice, he said,

'What happens if I can't do this?' his voice shaking as he spoke.

Rubbing her thumb gently over his cheek, Jacy couldn't speak as she pushed down the lump in her throat. His voice sounded so scared, reminding her of when he was just a little boy and the thunder outside would scare him. She would hold him on her knee until he feel asleep, and even then she would still hold him, wanting to protect him from the cruelties of the world. She realised that she hadn't protected him this time, and wanted nothing more at that minute that to scoop him up in her arms like he was just a little boy and make all of his pain go away.

Swallowing the lump, Jacy said in a quiet but solid voice,

'You can do this…because you're a fighter Ray. You can do anything you put your mind to and me and Neela are going to be with you the entire time'

Jacy watched as Ray gave her a small smile, and leaned forward to place a kiss on his forehead, brushing some of his hair off his face.

They sat there for a while longer, Jacy in the chair beside the bed, her hand holding Rays as he lay in the bed, waiting for his physio session. His wait was soon over when a tall, well built man, about six foot three, came in the door, introducing himself as the physiotherapist.

'Hi Ray. I'm Mike and I'm going to be the one who's going to be working with you over the next couple of weeks. Are you all set to go?'

Taking a deep breath, Ray nodded his head, and Jacy moved away from the bed to allow Mike to bring the wheelchair over and was placed right beside the bed.

* * *

Jacy stepped out of the room to go and phone Neela, who had requested to know when the session was starting so that she could come up and be with Ray. So, staying true to her word, Jacy was out in the hall making the call like she had promised.

* * *

Back in the room, Mike helped Ray change into a pair of sweats and t-shirt for the session and then had walked over to the bed, and said to Ray in a caring voice,

'Okay, I'm going to lift you into the chair and then we're going to make our way down to the gym to start the session O.K. And if at any time you want to stop, or feel that it's too much, just tell me and we'll stop' Mike was looking at Ray with a smile on his face, and Ray couldn't help but like this guy. He seemed really nice, and Ray just hoped that he was.

'O.K, I'm going to move you to the chair now…and I'm not going to lie to you because its not fair, but this is going to hurt a bit'

Walking over, Mike braced Rays back with one arm, and put the other under his legs. Ray bit back the cry that wanted to rip from his throat when he felt himself being lifted from the bed and into the chair, his legs not being elevated for the first time in a few weeks, causing the pain to wash through them like a tidal wave.

'Are you O.K?' Mike asked as he leaned around the chair to look Ray in the eye, noticing the pallor of his skin.

Shaking his head, Ray said in a steady voice,

'Yeah, it just hurt a little'

Patting Ray on the shoulder Mike stood up and put his hands on the handles and pushed the wheelchair out into the hall, and waited as Jacy hung up the phone and came to stand beside them.

'All set?' Jacy asked as she looked down at Ray, his hazel eyes looking up at her.

'Yeah, lets go' Ray said and they made there way to the gym to start the physiotherapy session.

* * *

Down in the E.R Neela was walking over to admit, the thought of Rays physiotherapy constantly on her mind. Jacy had told her that she was going to phone her whenever Ray was about to go, and every time that she heard the phone at admit ring, she expected it to be Jacy, but so far she had been wrong.

'Hey, you look worried, what's wrong?' Asked Abby as she came to rest beside Neela at the desk, the E.R being quiet so neither having much to do, much to their joy. This fact meant that Neela could slip away and not have to worry, but she knew that it could change at any time and was anxious.

'Ray has his first physiotherapy session today and I'm waiting for Jacy to call me so I can go up' Neela said as she looked at Abby, who's face had turned to one of sympathy upon hearing Rays name.

'Tell him that me and Luka are thinking of him. How's he doing by the way, I haven't gotten a chance to get up yet?' Abby asked

Just as Neela opened her mouth to answer, Frank called her over to the phone, and she knew straight away who it was. Picking the receiver up, Neela said,

'Yes…I'll be right up, bye' putting the phone down; Neela walked over to Abby and said,

'I'll talk to you later, I have to go now' with a smile Neela walked and made her way over to the elevators, and pushed the button to take her up to the floor that Ray was on.

Walking into the gym, Neela noticed that Ray was sitting in the chair, his mother beside him holding his hand in her own, and they were both talking to, what looked like, the physiotherapist.

Walking over, Neela waited until the man, who see saw by his ID was called Mike, finished talking and gave Ray a hug, whispering, 'Good Luck' in his ear before pulling back and sitting in the chair beside Jacy.

As Ray began the session, standing up, with Mike supporting him, and his hands on both sides of the parallel bars, he felt the burning hot pain shooting up his legs, and he bit his lip to bite back the cry that wanted to rip from his throat.

'O.K Ray, I want you to move your left foot one step forward O.K…in your own time, I don't want to push you' Mike said as he watched Ray, his hands on his hips to hold some of his weight, so that all of it was not on his legs.

As Ray made a move to shift his foot forward, he couldn't stop the cry that ripped from his throat and the tears that slid from his eyes against the pain. Pushing his foot forward, although it was only a few centimetres, Ray felt the sweat on his brow and his arms shake against his attempts, his body telling him that it didn't want to do this.

Seeing this, and feeling Ray began to slack, Mike pulled the chair over with one hand, as it was still sitting close by, and helped Ray lower back into it, the strain on his legs lessening as he sat, but still enough so that he still had his eyes squeezed shut against the pain.

Kneeling in front of Ray, Mike said in a comforting tone, looking over at Neela and Jacy, both women already out of their seats and making their way over to Ray, not being able to stand seeing him in so much pain, it breaking their hearts.

'That was really good; you tried really hard and managed to get a little bit'

Mike stood up and patted Ray on the shoulder, moving out of the way for Jacy.

As soon as Mike had moved, Jacy leaned over and pulled Ray into a hug, tears of her own falling down her face as she rubbed her hand up and down his back, feeling him shaking with the pain and the tears.

Not knowing what to do, Neela sat in the chair beside Ray and put her hand on the back of his head, which was buried in his mothers shoulder, and ran her fingers through his hair as she said,

'You did really well Ray.'

Turning her head, Neela used her other hand to wipe away her own tears as she thought, _did I cause him this pain?_

* * *

It was a few hours later and Neela's shift was over, so she was back up in Rays room, like she did every night. Jacy had gone home to get some rest, having been there since early in the morning. Ray had gotten freshening up and changed into a different pair of sweats and t-shirt, feeling sticky and sweaty after the brief, but hard, session he had gotten earlier.

Neela was sitting in the chair beside the bed, reading a magazine as Ray was still asleep, having been given a dose of morphine soon after the physiotherapy to help with the pain. Looking over at him, she couldn't help but think how much he looked like back in the first days when she had met him. His hair was slightly longer, and was hanging down in front of his eyes and sticking up at various angles, making him look like, Neela thought, a little puppy.

Not being able to contain herself, Neela let out a burst of a laugh, shooting her hand up to cover her mouth when she saw Ray stir, but it was too late when she noticed him open his eyes, and lift a hand to rub the sleep from them, before looking at her with a tired smile.

'Hi' he said, his sleep laden voice making his southern lilt seem more noticeable.

Pushing himself up on his elbows Ray yawned and looked at the other side of the room before saying,

'Mom?' Still too asleep to be bothered to form full sentences.

Setting down her magazine and sitting on the edge of the bed, a place she had taken up quite frequently, and running a hand through his messy hair, Neela said,

'She left a little but after you went to sleep. I told her that she needed to rest too, so I would stay with you'

Yawning, Ray lifted Neelas hand in his own, and stared down at it while he said,

'I didn't get to thank you for coming today', and looking up at her with puppy dog eyes he said, a small smile on his face, 'so, thank you'

Leaning forward and placing a kiss on his forehead, Neela whispered,

'I told you I was going to be there for you and I am'

* * *

**Well I hope that you liked this chapter, and please review either way to let me know what you thought!**


	7. Will it always be this hard?

**I want to start with saying a big 'SORRY!' for not updating in ages…and thank modscho for pushing me to do this, because that is what I needed. Well, I think that this is enough rambling, because you probably just want the next chapter…so here it is.**

**In this chapter, I want to show the friendship between Ray and Abby, because I think that she is very motherly towards him, and would be there to help him. And don't worry, Neela will make an appearance at the end, we can't have no Reela talks or scenes, now can we?**

* * *

**Chapter 7 – ****Will it always be this hard?**

* * *

Ray was lying in bed, bored and flipping through the channels on the T.V, not finding anything interesting to watch, most of the shows being soap operas or reality shows, not really Ray's idea of entertainment. Turning it off and setting the remote on the table beside him, Ray began to drum his fingers on his thigh as he looked around the room, and when his eyes fell on the card that Neela had brought him, he stopped and reached over to pick it up.

Holding it in his hands Ray smiled at the picture on the cover, a little puppy with a bandage on his ear, the caption above saying, 'I feel poorly'. When Neela had given it to him she had told him that she had saw it and thought of him, his hair reminding her of a puppy as it was not gelled up as usual, but instead just sticking up at random places, not messy, but certainly not how Ray would usually style it. The inside of the card had been signed, '_love Neela' _in her perfect handwriting, and Ray felt his heart warm every time that he read those words.

Setting the card back down, Ray lay his head back against the pillows and was about to close his eyes when he heard someone knocking the door and lifted his head, expecting to see Neela, and was surprised when it was Abby.

'Hey, come on in' Ray said as he watched Abby standing outside the door, a bag in her hand, waiting to be invited in, not wanting to intrude in case Ray was tired.

Walking over to Ray, Abby lent down and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek as she said,

'I'm sorry I haven't seen you in a while, but the ER has been crazy'

Abby pulled back and dug her hand into her bag and pulled out a giant card and handed it to Ray with a smile.

'We wanted to wait until everyone had signed it' Abby said with a smile as she watched the smile on Rays face as he heard the messages.

Ray moved to turn and set the card on the table with the others, but Abby quickly took it from him and set it down with the others.

'Thanks' Ray said as he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, not used to having people doing practically everything for him. He had been mortified the first morning someone had been sent to help him shower, but had eventually got used to the fact that the hospital was going to be treating him like a broken toy, although he still wasn't used to his friends doing the same.

Sitting in the chair beside the bed, Abby reached over and picked Rays hand up in her own, noticing the look on his face, sad and thoughtful.

'What's the matter?' Abby asked in a gentle, motherly fashion.

Turning his head to look at her, Ray just gave her a small smile as he replied,

'Nothing', but seeing the look on her face he knew that wasn't going to be suffice and so he said, 'O.K, so I'm just not used to being so…' Ray tried to think of a word to finish the sentence, millions of possibilities running through his head, _weak, fragile, broken, scared, ashamed, _and he finally said, '…helpless'

Looking at the sad look in his eyes, Abby stood up and sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to brush Rays legs, and cupped his cheek in her hand, forcing him to look at her as she said,

'You _are not_ helpless, you were in an accident and we _want _to look after you.' Seeing that he didn't seem to be cheering up any, Abby pretending to cuff in on the chin lightly as she said, ' And you better let us _or else_'

This drew a smile from Ray as he grabbed the wrist of her hand which wasn't still cupping his cheek and said,

'Or what?' his eyebrow rose in question, the smile still on his face.

Letting go of his face, but still sitting on the bed, Abby pretended to think, her hand on her chin and her eyes looking about, and finally she said,

'I'll tell everyone that you're afraid of needles'

Shrugging his shoulders lightly, Ray opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off when Mike walked through the door.

'Hey there Ray, ready to go?' Mike said as he walked over beside the bed, smiling at Abby as he stopped beside her.

Abby watched the look of worry that crossed over Rays face as Mike walked through the door. She knew that he hadn't went to a session alone, and neither Neela or his mother where at the hospital. Ray had told them to go home and rest, not knowing that he was supposed to have a session that day.

'I thought it wasn't until tomorrow?' Ray asked a slight waver in his voice. He hated going here, and Neela and his mother always made it a bit easier, encouraging him and being there for him. He didn't know if he could do it alone.

'Do you want me to call Neela or your mother?' Abby asked.

Shaking his head, Ray knew that it wouldn't be fair. They had stayed all day yesterday and most of the morning, and they deserved their rest too, he just wished he didn't have to go alone.

'Do you want _me_ to go?' Abby asked as she took Rays hand in her own, watching the look of gratitude cover his face as he nodded his head.

Standing off the bed Abby went left the room to go and phone Luka and tell him that she was going with Ray so he would know where she was. As she made her way back to the room, she felt her heart ache at the look of pain that crossed Rays face as he moved from the bed to the chair.

Walking into the room, Abby took the handles of the chair and smiled at Mike, who gave her a friendly smile back as he said,

'O.K lets go'

* * *

As Abby sat watching, she had to fight the urge to shout 'stop' or look away, not knowing how Neela or Jacy sat through this nearly every day. She watched as a tear slipped from under Ray's eyes, squeezed shut against the pain, his knuckles white as he gripped the bars.

She was relieved when it was finally over, and walked over to Ray as he sat back in the chair, and handed him a bottle of water, and wiped the tears off his cheeks. Sitting in the chair beside him, Abby watched as Ray turned his head away from her, obviously embarrassed, and placed her hand on his face to make him look at her.

'You did really well today Ray'

Biting his lip, Ray lifted his face to look at her and said, in a choked voice,

'Will it always be this hard?' and Abby watched as he looked down and another tear fell, and without thinking she pulled him into a hug and ran her hand up and down his back as he cried softly into her shoulder, too exhausted to do anything else.

* * *

It was a few hours after the session and Ray had went back to the room and gotten a shower after Abby had left. As he lay on his bed, he ran a hand through his still slightly damp hair, causing it to spike up a bit, and lay his head back. Closing his eyes Ray felt the day weighing on him and soon fell asleep, his worries for the day gone.

Walking down the hall, Neela kept worrying about Ray. Abby had phoned her when she had gotten home and told her about the day, as she was worried about Ray and how he was dealing with everything.

As Neela neared Rays door, she saw that he was asleep, his head lying on the pillow at an angle, facing away from the door and the blanket pulled up to his chest, his arms lying across his chest and stomach.

Walking into the room, Neela shut the door, stopping the noise from the hall coming in, and walked around to the side of the bed so that she could see Rays face. Watching him lying there, she thought that he looked so peaceful and free from all of the pain and had the overwhelming urge to kiss him.

Leaning forward, Neela placed a light kiss on his cheek, and when she pulled back after a few seconds, she was shocked to see that his eyes where half open, green orbs looking at her from under sleepy lids, and a small smile on his face.

'Hey, I'm I that back you can only do that when I'm asleep?' Ray joked, and lightly laughed.

Ray, was however cut off when Neela leaned forward again and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, her hand on the back of his neck. Pulling back, it was Neela who laughed at the look of shock on Rays face, a small smile soon coming in place.

'No, I just wanted to do it twice' Neela said and then sat down on the bed, lifting Rays hand in hers.

* * *

**Well, that was a step forward for our roomies at the end there, wasn't it! Please review and let me know what you thought.**


	8. One Day at a Time

**O.K, I want to say sorry for not updating this story in ages, and I am therefore giving you this long, and hopefully good, chapter to make it up to you all. Well, enough of my ramblings, and on with the story.**

**And thank you to all who read/reviewed the last chapter, your comments are really appreciated.**

**Oh, this chapter takes place straight after the end of the last one, so if you have forgotten it, you should read back over it.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: One Day at a Time**

* * *

Neela was sitting on the bed beside Ray, his hand in hers as she ran her thumb over his wrist, feeling his life pulsing beneath. Lifting it to her, she placed a gentle kiss on the inside of his wrist, smiling into it, causing Ray to smile at her as he asked,

'What's up with you today?' a look on confusion on his face at her strange behaviour. She hadn't been this affectionate with him before, and he wondered, but didn't really mind, what had brought it all about.

Leaning over to him, Neela ran her other hand through his damp hair, her hand coming to rest on the base of his neck, her nails grazing lightly, and she said,

'Nothing, I just missed you today'

Smiling, Ray pushed himself so that he was sitting up more, rather than being reclined, and looked at Neela with a sad look in his eyes as he said,

'Abby phoned you' He knew that Abby had been worried and distressed, as she hadn't stopped asking him how he was until she had left. He knew that it had to do with the physiotherapy session, but he didn't think that she would have been so worried about him that she would have phoned Neela. He wasn't angry, more touched by the fact that he had friends that cared about him that much.

Nodding her head, Neela cupped his cheek in her hand as she said in a soft voice,

'She was just worried about you'

Ray was about to tell Neela that people didn't need to worry about him that he was able to look after himself, when the door to his room opened and Jacy walked in.

'How are ya feelin' baby?' Jacy said with a look of concern on her face, the smile that was there not covering up how she truly felt, and ran her hand through Rays hair, kissing him on the cheek.

'I'm fine, why do you keep asking me that?' Stopping, Ray looked at her with anger and sadness in his eyes as he said, 'You didn't care before, so why act like you do now?'

Neela could see the look in Rays eyes, anger mixed with hurt, and looking at Jacy, she could see a look of sadness, tears welling. Knowing that she had to give them time alone, Neela stood up from the bed and excused herself,

'I'll let you two talk' Neela left the room quickly, not wanting to give either a chance to oppose, and closed the door behind her.

Jacy sat on the chair beside the bed, and looked up at Ray with a look of hurt in her eyes as she said,

'I care about you Ray, you're my baby and even though I haven't always been there these past few years, I'm here now…doesn't that count?'

Letting out a harsh laugh, Ray looked at her as he replied,

'So what, you think that because you turned up after I nearly got killed that I'll just forget about all the fucked up memories I have for a childhood because you weren't there' Pausing, Ray turned his head away from her, and added, 'Because it doesn't work that way'

Feeling tears welling in her eyes, Jacy stood from her chair and walked around to the other side of the bed, sitting on the edge and said to Ray in a somewhat shaky voice,

'I know I wasn't the best mother, but I want to be here for you know, and I want you to let me. You nearly died and I don't know what I would have done if I'd have known that I hadn't gotten to have the relationship with you that I always wanted Ray'

Keeping his head turned, Ray tensed his jaw, trying to stop the lump that was in his throat getting bigger, and the tears in his eyes from welling any further. In a strained voice he said,

'I don't want to have you having to do that…I just wanna be back to normal'

Seeing her son so upset, Jacy cupped his cheek in her hand, forcing him to look at her. The sight of tears in his eyes made her heart break, and she stroked his cool cheek as she said in a soft voice,

'You will be Ray, in time. And I'm going to be here with you, every step of the way' Jacy said the last part with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Ray tired to force a smile, but looked down, not able to withstand the look of forced happiness in his mother's eyes, and as he did, a tear dropped from his eyes, falling onto the white sheets and gown.

Jacy hadn't seen Ray cry since he was a child, and she felt her heart breaking at the site of him, so broken and fragile. Pulling him to her, Jacy wrapper her arms around him, feeling him do the same, his face pressed against her shoulder as he cried.

'Shh, there Ray, it's O.K' Jacy soothed as she ran her hand gently over his back, careful not to irritate any injuries he had that had not yet fully healed.

Ray had his eyes closed, not able to stop the tears that were falling from under them as he clung to his mother as if he was only a child. After about five minutes, his sobs subsided, and he was still holding onto Jacy, his head resting on her shoulder as she ran her hand up and down his back.

Pulling back, Ray looked down, embarrassed at what had just happened. But Jacy was, ashamedly, glad that Ray had needed her for something that she had been able to hold him and comfort him just like she had when he was just a child, and before everything had went sour.

Wiping at Rays eyes, Jacy felt her mind flashing back to when Ray was just a child, and she had been the one to protect him, the one he had came to when anything was wrong.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

_Jacy was sitting in the living room, waiting for Rick Barnett, Rays father, to come back from the bar. She hated it when he drank his temper ten times worse, and his fists ten times as hard, but she was too afraid to say anything. The last time she had she had ended up in the hospital with a broken arm._

_Hearing the sound of soft footsteps walking down the stairs, Jacy looked out the door to see an eight year old Ray, his sandy hair tousled with sleep, and his eyes tired as he walked over to her and said, _

'_Mama, why are you still up?'_

_Standing up, Jacy picked him up in her arms, his head instantly laying down on her shoulder, his small arms around her neck loosely as she said, _

'_Just waiting on your daddy, baby. Now come on, back to bed'_

_As soon as Jacy was half way out of the living room, the door swung open, and in stumbled a drunk and angry Rick Barnett. Marching over to Jacy and Ray, he grabbed Jacy by her arm, and snarled in her face, _

'_What the hell is he doin' up?'_

_Jacy set Ray down, and moved in front of him as she said, _

'_He was, he just came down to see where I was' Her voice was a low whisper, afraid of what Rick might do. Looking past her, and into the green eyes of his son, Rick snatched at his arm, pulling him over to him and shouting in his face,_

'_When you go to bed you stay there!' Before Jacy could even protest at Rick's anger towards their son, his hand had landed a blow across Rays face, sending him to the floor. Walking to the kitchen, Rick opened the fridge and pulled out another beer, ignoring his wife and son._

_Jacy had rushed to Rays side, pulling him onto her knee. Cupping his face in her hands, Jacy wiped away the tears that fell from his eyes, and hugged him close to her as she scooped him up in her arms, and grabbed her coat and purse with her free hand, the other cradling Ray against her._

_Opening the door, Jacy ran over to her car, and jumped into the drivers seat, setting Ray in the seat beside her, his small frame curled up under her coat as she pulled out of the drive, still shaking with his tears and fright._

'_It's O.K baby, daddy can't hurt you now' she said as she ran a hand protectively over his head._

_Soon Jacy and Ray pulled u in front of an apartment building where Jacy's friend Karen lived. She was the only one who knew the type of man that Rick really was, and was always there for Jacy where she needed her._

_Parking the car, Jacy got out and walked around to the other side and opened the door, lifting Ray out and cradling him against her as she made her way up the stairs, and to Karen's apartment. After a few knocks, the door was opened and Karen, a woman only a few years younger than Jacy, with brown shoulder length hair and wearing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt opened the door._

'_What's wrong?' She asked as she moved aside to let Jacy and the bundle in her arms in. Turning around, allowing Karen to see the bruise that had already began to form along Ray's cheek bone and around his eye._

'_Oh my God! Did Rick do this?' Karen said as she walked over to Jacy, and stroked Rays hair back, seeing the trace of red around his eyes from his tears, which still hadn't stopped, some falling slowly down his cheeks as he looked at her with sad, green orbs._

_Nodding her head, Jacy followed Karen over to the sofa and sat down, Ray on her knee, her arms wrapped around him as he lay his head on her chest, his arms around her neck._

'_Well, stay here for the night…your both tired, we'll talk in the morning' Karen said as she got up and grabbed a few pillows and blankets and brought them and set them on the sofa beside Jacy._

'_Goodnight' Karen leaned down and hugged her friend, and then placed a kiss on the top of Rays head, and ran her hand through his hair before going to her own room, leaving Jacy and Ray alone._

_Pulling Ray close to her, Jacy cupped his bruised face in her hand, and felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't believe what had happened, and would have given anything to go back and change it. _

'_Do we have to go back to daddy…cos I don't want to' Ray said with child like innocence, not understanding why what had happened had happened, just knowing that it was bad because it had made his mummy sad and he didn't want to go back._

_Pulling him close to her, Jacy whispered into his ear, _

'_No baby, we don't'_

_Moving so that she was lying down on the sofa, Ray tucked beside her, his head on her chest as she stroked his hair, Jacy pulled the thick comforter over them, and watched as Ray slept._

_**Flashback**_

* * *

Neela came walking down the hall after going to the restroom and checking her schedule, hoping that Ray and his mother had talked. Hearing no talking from the other side of the door, and thinking for a spilt second that Jacy had left and that was why, Neela opened the door, shocked to see Ray clinging onto his mother, obviously having cried, the redness around his eyes showing this.

'I'm sorry' Neela excused herself, drawing the attention of both mother and son to look her way. Pulling his head up, Ray wiped his hand across the back of his eyes and leaned back against the pillows as he said,

'Its fine', and offered Neela a small smile.

Neela nodded her head and returned Rays smile with one of her own. Jacy, who had been sitting on the bed and watched the exchange between her son and his ex-roommate, decided that she should give them some time to talk, and Ray some time to think about what she had said.

'I have to go baby, but I'll be back tomorrow for your session' Jacy said as she leaned over and hugged Ray, kissing him on the cheek before standing and saying goodbye to Neela and giving her a quick hug, closing the door behind her as she left.

Neela looked over at Ray as he plucked at his sweats, his eyes not meeting hers.

'What's wrong?' Neela asked, and only received a non verbal shake of the head from Ray, who had yet to look at her, but whom she could see had a sad look masking his face. Standing up and going to sit on the side of his bed, Neela took Rays hand in her own, stopping his movement, and cupped his cheek in her hand, forcing him to look at her.

'You can tell me, you know that'

Ray nodded his head and blew out a breath before he said,

'Just thought that I would only have to deal with one stupid thing at a time'

Leaning forward, Neela pulled Ray into her embrace, running her hand through the bottom of his arm as her hand cupped the base of his neck, and whispered to him,

'Well, I'm here for you…no matter how many things you have to get through, I'll be here for you, I promise'

Ray nodded his head, feeling his eyes dropping as he tried to stay awake, the events of the day taking their toll on him. Pulling back from Neela, Ray yawned as he lay back on the pillows, and said to her,

'Thanks Neela…I don't know what I'd do without you'

Smiling, Neela seen his sleepy eyes, Neela said to him,

'You'd be fine, because you're a fighter…but now, you're a sleeper, so stop fighting it and close your eyes'

Laughing lightly, Ray nodded his head and closed his eyes as Neela stood from the bed and pulled the blanket over him. Seeing his breathing beginning to steady out as he drifted to sleep, Neela placed a tender kiss on his forehead, and turned the lamp beside his bed off.

Opening the door, Neela turned back to look at Ray once more, a contented look on his face as he slept. Feeling her love for him swelling in her heart, Neela closed the door, promising herself that when he was better, she would tell him how she felt.

* * *

**Well, I hope that everyone liked this long and hopefully good chapter. I had the flashback with Ray as a child as I felt it was important to show what his childhood with Jacy was like, to give an idea as to why she hadn't seen him in three years. Hope that you liked it and please review and let me know what you thought.**


	9. Perdonare e Dimenticare

**First off I want to say how sorry I am for not updating this story in ages, and so I am giving you a nice long chapter that I hope you will all enjoy. I know that some of you also read my other story, "**_**Happiness Is a Road Travelled**_**" and I promise that it will be the next for an update! I want to thank all of you who reviewed the last chapter and I hope that you do the same for this, even if it is just telling me off for not updating in ages, because it might guilt me into being faster in future, or to let me know what you think. Well, enough with my ramblings, I think that you all just want the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Perdonare e Dimenticare**

* * *

Ray was due to go to a physiotherapy session in one hour, something that usually filled him with dread and nerves, never knowing exactly how they would turn out. Would he fall? Would it be more painful than the last? Would he be able to take one more step than last time? But this week Ray was looking forward to this one, but not because he felt more confident in himself, although he did with the progress he had made over the past weeks, Michael telling him how it was astounding how far he had come in such a short space of time, but because it was his last session as an in patient, Ray having been told earlier that week that he was going to be discharged today and would continue treatment as an outpatient. He would have to use crutches or a wheelchair if it was a bad day, but he was so excited at the fact that he was going home. He couldn't attempt to guess how many times he had woke up and thought he was back in his apartment in a moment of confusion and wishful thinking, but he was glad that tomorrow when he did wake up, that he wouldn't just be _thinking _he was in his apartment, he _would _be in it. Leaning his head back against the pillows, Ray began to flip through the channels of the TV, trying to find something to watch to pass the time until Michael, Neela and his mother got there, and he would have his last session as an in patient.

Ray was waiting in the hospital gym for Neela and Jacy to come, Michael setting up the equipment as he talked. The two had become friends over the past few weeks, Ray telling Michael about what had happened with Neela, and in return Michael had told Ray all the problems that he had faced with his own family, having recently got involved with a new girlfriend whom they disapproved of.

"So, I guess you're glad to be going home?" Michael said with a grin as he moved stuff around, his face looking to Ray as he spoke.

Nodding his head, a smile on his face, Ray replied,

"Definitely, I can't wait to get out of here. I think I know which tiles have cracks in that room now" Ray joked about the amount of time that he had spent there.

"Come on, it can't be that bad. I mean you had your _girlfriend_ running around for you, fetching you pillows" Michael said with a smirk, noting the amount of time that he had seen Ray and Neela spending together.

Ray ran a hand over the back of his neck, a blush on his face as he said,

"She's not my girlfriend, you know that, we're…we haven't even had a date or anything and"

Michael laughed as he patted Ray on the back and said,

"OK there man, don't get your boxers in a twist…and speaking of Neela, here she is" Michael said as he pointed at the door. Ray turned his head to look after slapping Michael on the arm for his comment, his face lighting up as his mother and Neela walked towards him, the latter immediately leaning down and enveloping him into a hug, a small kiss placed on his cheek before she pulled back.

Ray gave Michael a, "_shut up or I'll kick your ass" _look, seeing the smirk on the older mans face at the obvious signs that Neela and Ray were more than just friends. Looking at Ray, he said with an overly cheery voice,

"OK, let's start"

* * *

It was an hour later and Ray, Neela and Jacy where back in his room, Ray in the bathroom getting showered and ready to go home. Neela and Jacy where packing his belongings back into his bag, only a few t-shirts and sweats still in the room as they had knew for about three days that Ray was going to be coming home soon and so they had begun to take some of his stuff from the room so there would be less to take whenever he was discharged. As they were packing stuff, Neela lifted a grey t-shirt, a faded Mickey Mouse on the front. She remembered the first time that she had seen Ray wearing it and she had teased him all night, although she had found it rather cute on him.

* * *

_Neela was sitting on the couch watching "Celebrity Poker". She had a bowl of popcorn in her hands and a blanket wrapped around her. It was a cold December night and the snow was falling slowly outside, setting and creating a blanket on the ground. She was glad that she had the night off and wasn't in tomorrow, knowing that she would have to get up early to plough her way to work if she wanted to get there on time. She had gotten home roughly an hour ago, and knew that Ray should be getting home soon; worried for her roomie in case something happened to him. All fears where quashed however when she heard the sound of a key in the lock, the door being pushed open to reveal a cold Ray._

"_Hey" Neela called to him as he pulled off his hat and scarf, sending snowflakes that had grabbed onto the material flying to the ground. Walking over to her as he unzipped his coat and pulled it off, throwing it over the back of the other chair, Ray said with a smile, _

"_Hey, it's freezing outside"_

_Neela smiled a little as she watched him rubbing his hands together and blowing into them in an attempt to warm up, the look on his face as he concentrated so cute. Meeting his gaze, she said with a smile, _

"_There's hot water left for you if you want a shower"_

_Nodding his head, Ray rounded the sofa, planning on just going to the bathroom but instead stopping to place a cold hand on the exposed skin on Neela's neck, earning a startled yelp and a slap on the hand from her. Laughing, he walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him._

_Neela was now watching an old re-run of "Friends", and turned her head when she heard the bathroom door open. She felt her eyes widen a little as she stared at Ray's bare chest and stomach, the water from the shower still making its way down his body and forcing her eyes to look further down. Turning her face back to the TV, she felt a blush on her cheeks, relieved that he hadn't seen her, and smiled a little as she heard his bedroom door clicked closed. A few minutes later it opened again, only this time Neela kept her eyes on the screen, afraid of embarrassing herself, and was surprised when she heard Ray say, _

"_What we watching?" A smile on his face as he looked at her. Turning her head, she was about to answer, but stopped when she saw what he was wearing. He had on a pair of navy sweats and thick socks, but that wasn't what was unusual to her, what was however, was the fact that he was wearing a grey Mickey Mouse T-Shirt, not really the attire that she associated with him. _

"_What are you wearing?" Neela said with a grin as he turned from her previous position of having her feet tucked under her to look at him better. _

"_Clothes…I thought it was too cold to go naked tonight" Ray said with a grin of his own as he mirrored her actions, pulling his feet up onto the couch and leaning into the side of it. _

_Neela felt a blush rise to her face as images raided her mind at his words, and lifted a pillow, throwing it at his face as she took a deep breath, forcing her colour to return to normal. Ray caught the pillow, putting it behind his head as he leaned back, stretching his legs so his feet where propped on Neela's lap, and said with a smile, _

"_And anyway, what's wrong with Mickey?" _

_Placing her hand on his shin, Neela patted his leg as he said, _

"_He's for ten year olds…not twenty seven year olds"_

_Ray just shrugged his shoulders, pulling his feet from her lap and moving so that he was sitting closer to her, Neela smelling soap from him as she took a breath in, and pulled some of the blanket around himself as he said, _

"_So, if you're done picking on me maybe we could watch TV?"_

_The rest of the night had resulted in Neela teasing Ray, him always having a come back that resulted in Neela thinking things she shouldn't with him so close, like when he told her if she didn't like it that much that she should just take it off him. They had fell asleep cuddled up to each other and woke the next morning in the same fashion, Neela's head on Rays chest and his arms wrapped around her, both tangled in the blanket._

* * *

Neela carefully folded the shirt and placed it into the bag as she smiled as little, the memory fresh in her mind. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Jacy saying,

"I'm glad he's coming home today, it's been too long already", her voice was choked with emotion as she fiddled with the cards that had been sent to Ray over the past few weeks, her eyes welling up with tears at the thought of what could have happened.

Walking over to her, Neela placed a hand on her back as he said in a comforting voice,

"It's OK, he's fine now, and he's going to be fine. You can see that, he's a fighter" Neela pulled her into a quick hug, smiling as he pulled back and watched the older woman wipe away the few tears that had rolled down her cheeks. Picking up the bundle of cards, Jacy set them in the bag as she said,

"I'm sorry about that, it's just still hard when I think about what could have happened" Turning to look at Neela, she placed a hand on the younger woman's shoulder as he said in a genuine voice,

"Thank you for being there for Ray through all of this…you don't know how much this means to me, to _him"_

Neela felt tears well up in her own eyes, a small laugh escaping her mouth as she wiped her hand over her face, hearing the sound of the water turning off and said,

"God, look at us. We should try and compose ourselves before Ray comes out and wonders what's wrong" Nodding her head in agreement, Jacy laughed herself as she finished folding up the remainder of Rays clothing and tucked it neatly into the bag. Neela helped, earning a look from Jacy as she said,

"You seem like you've done this before"

Neela nodded her head in reply as she said with a grin,

"Yeah, Ray tends to think that the couch is a hamper…I just end up doing his laundry so he doesn't have to wear scrubs all day every day when he has no more clean clothes"

Both women had been so engrossed in their conversation; neither had heard the "click" of the door as it unlocked and Ray emerged wearing a pair of blue faded jeans, a blue t-shirt and a grey zip up. He was uses the crutches, moving slowly but steady on his own feet, something he was glad to be able to do. Looking over at Neela and his mother with a raised eyebrow he asked,

"What are you two up to?" He laughed as they both jumped, startled by the sound of his voice, not expecting him to be out so soon. Moving over to them, he said with an even bigger grin,

"Wow, must be good if you're both looking so guilty"

Putting her hand on his forearm, Neela looked at him as she said,

"Just hearing some baby stories?"

Rays mouth dropped and his eyes went wide as he looked to his mother, a blush creeping over his cheeks and neck as he said,

"You weren't…where you?" He said with a worried look on his face, knowing that some things should _not _be told to Neela, such as the time when he was three years old and decided that it was a good idea to attempt to fly down the stairs…needless to say that night hadn't ended great, his mother and father having to take him to the hospital with a broken arm. Seeing the look on her sons face, and knowing that she didn't usually get the chance to tease him, it usually being the other way around, Jacy said with a smile,

"Oh, maybe…but you won't know, will you?"

Ray looked at her as she laughed before sitting down on the bed as he said with puppy eyes,

"Is that how you treat your only child?" Neela rolled her eyes as he looked at her with the same face, her hand covering his eyes as she said,

"You really don't think that'll work, do you?" She felt her skin tingle up her arm at the mere touching of their skin, and made sure to keep her breathing even so as not to give anything away.

Pulling her hand away, Ray looked at her with a bright smile as he said,

"Yes"

His smile soon faded however when an orderly appeared at the door, knocking it as he said,

"Ray Barnett, you're ready to be signed out", Ray would have shouted with joy at that, had it not been for the wheelchair sitting beside the man. Neela walked over to the man and thanked him, saying that she would take the chair, the thankful look on his face clear. He had a lot to do as orderlies usually did, and a doctor offering to help take some of the load was a blessing.

"Good, now that he's gone I can walk?" Ray asked more than said, a hopeful look on his face as he gazed up at Neela, who simply shook her head as she said in a gentle yet stern voice,

"No, you're getting in this and that's all there is to it"

Before he had a chance to protest, Jacy walked over to him, putting her hand around his bicep as she said,

"Do as you're told", seeing the tell tale signs on his face that he wasn't going to give in that easily. Sighing slightly, Ray moved and into the chair, looking up at Neela as he said,

"You're going to walk through the ER as slow as you can, aren't you"

Neela let out a small laugh as she began to push the chair, saying with a smile on her face,

"Of course I am they've all missed you"

* * *

They were down in the ER, Jacy carrying Ray's bag as Neela pushed the chair, slower than she had been in Rays mind, and he was shocked to find that he was actually pleased to be seeing the stained ceilings and dirty floors of the ER. The last time he had been here had been the night of the accident, and although he couldn't remember any of it, he was glad that it hadn't been his last time there.

In a matter of seconds he was bombarded as people came rushing over to wish him well and tell him how much they had missed him, most of them only having a few seconds to spare before having to get back to work. The next to come over where Abby and Luka, a warm smile on both of their faces as they greeted all three with a "hello"

Abby leaned down and gave Ray a quick hug, Luka shaking his hand. Looking up at them, Ray said with a grin,

"So, how's Bill finding it?" He knew that the ER always seemed twice as hectic when they were down a member of staff, and so they had employed a temporary replacement for Ray, Bill. He wasn't an entirely social person and he tended to ramble for quite a bit about topics that no one cared about. Ray hadn't met him, but he had been told over the past weeks what he was like by the various members of staff who had been up to see him.

"So I see that your sarcasm didn't take a knock" Abby said as she grinned at her, her arm wrapped around Lukas waist as his arm was swung loosely over her shoulder. They talked for a few more minutes about what had been going on and visiting later in the week and then Ray, Neela and Jacy all left. The car had been parked around the corner by Neela, but Jacy needed to put the bag in the car, the weight of it beginning to play havoc on her shoulder. Ray had told her to go with Neela that he would be fine for a few minutes until she got back, and after a convincing and reassuring smile from Ray she was off.

Ray didn't know that someone was beside him until they spoke, and he was shocked to say that least when he realised that it was Gates. He hadn't seen Tony since the night of the wedding and in all honesty was entirely sure if he wanted to. They had fought like children, both drunk at the time, Ray even more so, and the results of that night had been terrible.

"Hey man…how you feeling?" Gates asked an awkward smile on his face as he felt the tension between the two men.

Looking at Gates, not feeling any harsh feelings towards the man for what had happened, but still not liking him for what he had done to Neela, Ray replied calmly,

"Fine…just glad to be going home"

Tony nodded his head before looking at his feet, pulling his head up a few moments later as he said,

"Listen, about what happened that night…I just want to say I'm sorry-" but before he could finish, he was cut off by Ray who said,

"It wasn't you're fault, it was an accident…nobody's to blame" He gave the other man a reassuring smile, finding that he was more decent than he had originally thought. He had swore that Gates would want to come and make sure Ray was still breathing and be off…he hadn't been expecting an apology.

"Well, I'll let you get going then…and I'm sure I'll see you back here in a few weeks" Tony said, patting Ray on the shoulder before getting up and returning to the ER.

* * *

After his brief conversation with Tony, Neela and Jacy had brought the car round and they had all gotten in and made their way home, the traffic being heavy and therefore making the trip about three times longer than it should have been. When they had reached the apartment building, Ray had insisted on using the crutches, not wanting to have to use the chair. It had taken time, Ray's steps slow yet steady, and they had finally made their way into the lobby and over to the lift, which thankfully was working.

Neela and Ray were sitting on the couch watching TV as Jacy made dinner, Neela insisting that she would help but getting shooed away, Jacy telling her to go and relax. She had said that it would be easier and she would have it made in no time, so Neela shouldn't worry and just keep Ray company, something which Neela was happy to oblige to.

They were watching an old seventies horror flick, the type that used ketchup for blood and bad animations for monsters, something that wouldn't scare a child. Neela looked at Ray as he shifted slightly, a low moan escaping his lips as he shifted his leg. Placing her hand on his shoulder, causing him to look at her, Neela asked in a concern voiced,

"Are you OK…do you need something for the pain?"

Ray looked at Neela with a small smile as he stopped moving, leaning more over to her and said,

"No, thanks…I'll be fine"

Moving her hand to the side of his neck, her fingers running through the bottom of his hair as she did, she said,

"OK, but tell me if you need anything" Ray nodded his head, a smile on his face and promised that he would. Neela moved her hand from his neck, instantly wanting to put it back again and have the contact, but instead set it on the couch in the space between them. Her eyes were on the TV, and so she felt instead of seen his hand on top of hers, turning her own hand over and interlocking their fingers, a smile on her face as she did.

* * *

After dinner Jacy had decided to go to bed and so had Ray and Neela. Neela was sharing with Ray since she had told Jacy to stay in her room, making a joke about the state of Ray's room, earning a laugh and a knowing nod from his mother. Neela was sitting on the bed, wearing a pink tank top and a pair of grey sweats, her hair was down and falling over her shoulders and she was sitting Indian style on the bed as Ray rummaged through a drawer, although what he was looking for Neela didn't know.

Just as she was about to ask him what it was, Ray pulled something from the drawer and closed his hand around it before she could see it. Walking over to sit beside her, although his steps where slower than usual, his legs beginning to ache from walking on them, Ray looked at her with a smile on his face. Opening his hand, he revealed to Neela a small necklace, the one that he had bought for her the first Christmas they were roommates. It was a gold "N", and Neela had lost it just before she had moved out.

Neela felt tears well up in her eyes as she fingered the chain in his hand, her finger brushing over his skin as he said in a choked voice,

"I've been wondering where this went…when did you find it?"

Ray smiled at her as he wiped away a small tear that had escaped from her eye with his thumb, cupping her cheek with his hand as he said in a soft voice,

"The night before the wedding…I was looking for that CD I made you in my locker and it was in there…I don't know why, but it was"

Picking it up, Neela unclasped it and smiled when Ray took it from her and leaned forward so he could put it on, Neela closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent. Before he pulled back, Neela pulled him into a hug, saying into his ear,

"Thank you so much Ray…you don't know what this means to me"

Neela pulled back and fingered the necklace hanging around her neck. Looking at Ray and feeling a surge of courage, she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, her arms going around his neck and pulling him closer to her. After the initial shock at the fact that Neela had kissed him, Ray wrapped his own arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him, and deepened the kiss, smiling into it when he heard her moan.

Pulling back, breathless, Neela cupped Ray's cheek with her hands as he looked into his eyes, seeing the love there, and said in a soft voice,

"Ray, I-I love you"

Feeling his heart stop for a moment, in shock at hearing her say the words that he hand wanted to hear for so long, Ray smiled as he said to her in a gentle voice, his hands resting on her waist as he said,

"I love you too"

* * *

**A/N Well, well! I hope that you liked this long and hopefully good chapter. Please review and let me know what you think, for reviews are love, and I give you Roomie love so please give me some review love!**


	10. For Me It's You

**OK, so I owe a great big "Sorry" for not updating this story in ages…life got in the way and I sadly didn't get around to it. But better late than never, right?**** Well, I just want to thank all of those who read and reviewed the last chapter, **

**Missou64, Updates-Please, Lhara G, butterflyswest, kat priestley, siddika, .Eternal.Disaster. and cmtaylor531 **

**Warning: Adult content in this chapter at the start.**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: ****For Me It's You**

* * *

Ray yawned and turned over in the bed, dazed for a moment when he felt himself bump into something, or rather, some_one. _The events of the previous night came pouring back to him; and he smiled, glad that they had finally confessed to one another how they felt. He didn't think that telling Neela how he really felt about her, telling her how much he loved her, would make him feel like he did right now. He felt better than he had in months, and he couldn't stop smiling. Lying back down, Ray wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. Nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck, Ray smiled when he felt her tighter her hold on his arm slightly before turning over in his arms so that she was facing him.

"Here there" Neela said with a smile, cupping Ray's cheek with her hand before leaning forward slightly and placing a soft kiss on his lips. Pulling back, she smiled at the look of happiness on his face, the same look reflected on her own. It had been so long since Neela had seen him look that happy, something she felt guilty for. She had known that Ray had feelings for her when they were living together, and that was what had prompted her decision to move out, the events of that morning proving to her that maybe living with another man who she had growing feelings for when the man she was supposed to be in love with was fighting half way across the world wasn't the best situation to be in. She had hated herself every time that she would go out with Gates, knowing that she was probably just using him as much as he was using her, trying to find a way to keep her mind off Ray. But now that he was smiling, Neela was glad that she had something to do with putting it back on his face; his smile being one of the things that she loved about him, and also one of the few things that she noticed about him when they had met three years ago on Ray's first day at County.

"Hey" Ray said before leaning forward and kissing her again, pulling back after a few moments and resting his forehead against hers.

"What time is it?" Neela asked, pushing herself up slightly so that she could see the clock on the bedside table. Lying back down beside Ray, she resumed her previous position, and with a smile on her face,

"Still early, we don't have to get up yet"

"Thank God" Ray said with a soft laugh, kissing her once more.

Neela deepened the kiss, her arms snaking around Ray's neck and pulling him on top of her, his hands resting on her waist. Moving her arms from around his neck, Neela pushed at the t-shirt he was wearing, pushing it up his back, causing him to break the kiss and pull back, allowing her to pull it off and throw it to the floor.

Leaning back down, Ray kissed her again, his hands exploring the skin under her top as she moved her kisss along his jaw and down his neck, Ray pushing her own tank top higher, causing her to be the one to break the kiss this time.

Looking at her with sparkling green eyes, Ray smiled as he said in a soft voice,

"I love you"

Cupping his cheek with her hand, Neela smiled back, her heart swelling, and kissed him before replying,

"I love you too"

Pulling him down for another kiss, Neela closed her eyes as Ray moved his kissed along her jaw and down her neck, nipping lightly and leaving his mark on her collar bone. Moving back to her mouth, Ray pushed at her sweat pants, throwing them to the floor along with both of their tops. Flipping them so that she was on top now, Neela sat up, straddling his waist and said,

"You know that I just want you to be happy right?"

Nodding his head, Ray smiled as he leaned up slightly and said,

"Being with you makes me happy…the happiest I've ever been"

Smiling, Neela grinned as she reached her hands behind her back, unclasping her bra and throwing in to the growing pile of clothes on Ray's floor. Leaning down she captured his lips in a passionate kiss, her own hands working on his bottoms, sliding them over his hips and tossing them to the floor.

Ray smiled into the kiss, cupping her cheeks with his hands. Pulling back from the kiss, Neela moved her lips down her neck and chest, to just above the waist band of his boxers, before moving up again. Moving her lips back to his, Neela pushed his boxers down, the last piece of clothing that separated them gone, and tossed them to the side. Pulling her down into a kiss, Ray moved so that he was on top again, never breaking the kiss, and entered her, crying out her name.

Wrapping her arms around him, Neela kissed him along his jaw and neck, moaning his name. Moving so that she was straddling his waist, Neela leaned down and kissed him, quicken the rocking of her hips, and closed her eyes as they both reached their climax. Resting her head on his chest, Ray's arms wrapped around her, Neela kissed him on the cheek as she said,

"That was amazing Ray"

Looking at her with a grin, Ray kissed the tip of her nose before lying his head back down on the pillow. Moving so that she was lying beside him, her head on his chest, Neela wrapped her arm around Ray's lean waist and closed her eyes, and they both fell into a peaceful sleep, wrapped in each others arms.

* * *

It was a few hours later and Neela woke to the sound of someone knocking on the bedroom door. Pushing herself up, she called out, her voice still laced with sleep,

"Hold on a sec"

Looking at Ray, who hadn't even stirred, Neela shook his shoulder gently and said,

"Ray…Ray, you're mother's at the bedroom door", her voice quiet so that Jacy couldn't hear.

Opening his eyes, Ray looked over at the door and then back at Neela, realizing why she had a slight blush over her cheeks, and a slightly worried expression. His face took on the same look, and he ran his hand through his hair as he called out,

"Hold on mom…comin' now!"

Standing on the other side of the door, Jacy thought that Ray had shouted to her, "come _**in**_ now", and proceeded to open the door, only to slam it shut very quickly upon seeing her son and his roommate, or apparently more than a roommate, Neela, sitting in bed with nothing to cover them but a blanket, Ray shouting out in a voice a few pitches higher than his normal,

"MOM!"

Ray watched as the door slammed closed before falling back onto the bed and covering his face with his hands as he said,

"God, why me…why now, of all days?"

Neela laughed, although she herself was still a rather lovely shade of pink. Pulling his hands away from his face, Neela said,

"Well, she probably heard you anyway…you were that loud"

Pulling a face Ray said,

"The thought of my mother _hearing_ me have sex is worse than her knowing that I did…it's just…wrong"

Wrapping her arms around his neck as he pushed himself up, Neela kissed him on the cheek as she said,

"Well, you may as well go and see what it was she needed to talk to you about"

Ray nodded his head and got out of bed, pulling a pair of boxers from his drawers and pulling them over his hips as he said,

"I can't believe that just happened"

Neela laughed as she got out of the bed, the sheet wrapped around her, and padded over to him, wrapped her arms around him as she said,

"It could have been worse…she could've walked in on us actually having sex"

Ray shivered slightly as he said,

"God, don't go there"

Pulling a pair of sweats and a clean t-shirt out of his wardrobe, Ray pulled them on, and sat down on the bed, waiting for Neela to get dressed. Running his hand over his leg, Ray grimaced in pain when he felt how tight the muscles were. Pushing himself up, he took slow steps out to the living room where Jacy was, Neela beside him.

"Hello sweetie" Jacy said as she looked at both Ray and Neela, addressing them both with the same pet name. Running a hand through his hair, Ray sat down on the couch beside his mother, Neela sitting in the armchair beside him.

"What was it you needed to talk about, am, earlier?" Ray asked a blush on his neck.

Looking at her son with a smile, Jacy took his hand in her own, running her thumb over the back of it as she said,

"I know that we didn't really get on that well the past few years Ray…and staying with you now is what makes up for it, but I can't stop the feeling that I'm getting in yours and Neela's way"

Ray shook his head and quickly answered,

"You're not…really"

Looking over at Neela, and then back to Ray, Jacy said,

"I still want to be here for you Ray…but I was thinking that maybe I could stay at a hotel, give you and Neela some time together"

Looking at Jacy, Neela said with a small smile,

"Jacy, we couldn't let you do that. You're not getting in the way here, and it's not right that you can't stay with your son"

Jacy grinned, and Neela couldn't help but notice that it was quite resemblance of Ray's grin, and said,

"After this morning, I think that I am"

Ray's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed pink as he said,

"Mom!" earning a laugh from Jacy, Neela herself was blushing.

Looking at Ray with a loving look, Jacy cupped his cheek in her hand as she said,

"Well then maybe I should go home and you can visit me when you're well enough" Looking over at Neela with a smile she added, "You've already got a wonderful woman who loves you and can take care of you"

Neela smiled over at Jacy before getting up from her seat and walking over and sitting on the arm of the couch behind Ray, her hand resting on his back.

"I do Jacy, but I don't want you to feel that you have to leave because Ray and I are"

Jacy cut Neela off before she could finish and said,

"No, dear, that's not why. I just think that you two need some time together, after all you've both been through."

Ray looked at her with a sad gaze in his eyes. Over the past few weeks he and his mother had both bonded a lot, the fragile relationship that they had shared being repaired. Stoking her thumb over Ray's cheek, Jacy said with a guilty smile,

"Well, I've already booked a flight for tomorrow morning"

Ray looked at Neela and then back to Jacy, and said with a smile,

"Well, if that's what you want to do, then we're happy for you"

Jacy smiled and pulled Ray into a hug before standing up and hugging Neela. Looking at them, she said with a small smile,

"Well, I better get packing then"

Ray wrapped his arm around Neela's waist and looked at her with a sad smile as he said,

"I'm gonna miss having her around…but if she want to go home I'm not gonna stop her"

Kissing his forehead, Neela rested her cheek against his head as she said in a soft voice,

"I know…but like she said Ray, we can go and visit her when you're more able to"

Smiling, Ray moved so that Neela was sitting on the couch beside him and said with a bright smile, his eyes lighting up,

"Yeah, then you can meet the rest of my crazy family"

Pulling Ray into a hug, Neela laughed as she said,

"I'd love that…especially if their anything like you and your mother"

* * *

It was the next morning and Jacy, Ray and Neela were all sitting in the chairs at the airport, waiting for Jacy's flight to be called. They had gone out to a restaurant the night before to give Jacy a proper meal before she had to leave, Neela not wanting to poison Jacy with her own cooking or subject her to a take-out. After that they had all went back to the apartment to watch a movie, and Jacy had picked, "Nightmare on Elm Street", Neela now aware of where Ray had gotten his liking for horror films.

"Flight 48B To Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is now boarding" The loudspeaker called out.

Ray, Neela and Jacy all stood up, Ray having to use his crutches, his leg still too sore to be walking unaided just yet.

"You call me anytime, O.K baby", Jacy said with tears in her eyes as she pulled Ray into a hug. Holding him there, she whispered in his ear quietly so as Neela couldn't hear,

"Take care of her Ray"

Nodding his head, Ray pulled back from the embrace and said,

"You know I will"

Jacy then moved over to Neela, and pulled her into a warm embrace, pulling back and saying with a slight smirk, although there was still a trace of tears lingering in her eyes,

"He steps out of line and you let me know, I'll tell you what to do"

Neela laughed as she nodded her head, and replied,

"I will, Jacy."

Hearing the final announcement for her flight, Jacy picked up her bags and walked to the terminal, glancing back at Neela and Ray every few seconds. Both waited until she was out of sight before they began to leave, getting into their own car and beginning the drive home.

Neela, who was driving, looked at the road as she placed her hand on Ray's leg and said,

"You O.K", noticing that he had been quiet ever since they had left the airport twenty minutes ago.

Placing his hand on top of hers and interlocking their fingers, Ray looked at her as he said,

"Yeah, I was just thinking"

Stopping at a red light, Neela turned her face to look at him as she asked,

"About what, your mom?"

Shaking his head, Ray looked at her with a cheeky grin as he said,

"Nope…thinking how we can have sex now without anyone to hear us"

"Ray!"

* * *

**A/N Well, there you go, chapter ten! I hope that you liked it and please review and let me know what you think!**


	11. Stay Like This Forever

**Wow, I have to say that I am so, so sorry for not updating this story in over at year! I can't believe it's been that long and trust me when I say that I will never leave another story this long again. I have no idea how I forgot about this story...I guess with all of the hype when Shane West came back I ended up writing all my others and this one got pushed to the back. So please forgive me and I hope that you like this chapter! I would also like to thank all of you who read/reviewed the last chapter, it really does mean a lot to me. **

**Chapter 11 – Stay Like This Forever**

Jaycee had left to go back home to Baton Rouge a week ago and Neela, although she felt selfish for the thought, loved having the apartment for just her and Ray without having to worry about anyone walking in on them...again. Their first few days alone together had mainly been spent in bed as they made up for lost time with one another, not wanting to be apart even again. Of course now that the fridge was empty and Neela was beginning to grow tired of fast food, only being able to handle so much Chinese and pizza within a short space of time, she decided that they would need to do some shopping if they wanted to eat anything more sustainable than the leftovers in the fridge, which Neela wasn't even sure where safe for human consumption anymore.

Turning on her side in bed she looked at Ray, his face half buried in the pillow and his hair sticking up in various directions. In her opinion he had the cutest bed head she had ever seen. A small smile on her face she ran her finger down the bridge of his nose gently, laughing softly as he moved his head away from her in his sleep, trying to get away from the tickling.

"Ray" Neela whispered softly as she ran her finger down his nose once again, stopping when he opened his eyes slightly, looking at her with cloudy grin eyes and a soft smile. Running her hand along his cheek, she lay her head down on the pillow, her nose nearly touching his as she said in a quiet voice, not wanting to break the peaceful atmosphere,

"Hey sleep head, time to get up and go out if you want to eat again this week"

Wrapping his arm around her waist, Ray leaned closer to her, his nose touching hers, before closing his eyes again and saying,

"I can think of better things to do than eat", the tone of his voice sexy to Neela even though it was still laden with sleep, his soft southern drawl more noticeable to her now.

Running her hand through his hair, Neela pulled back slightly and kissed him on the tip of the nose before saying,

"But we can't do that if we don't have anything to eat" Sitting up, Ray opening his eyes and looking at her once again, she slapped him lightly on the backside before adding with a grin, "Need to keep your energy up baby", laughing as she stood from the bed and pulled on one of Rays sweatshirts before making her way to the living room. She knew that if she stayed in bed then Ray would get his way and they would be eating pizza again tonight...and as tempting as that was she couldn't eat another portion of special fried rice or she would die.

Turning over onto his back, Ray rubbed the slight from his eyes before pushing himself up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Massaging the muscles on his right calve, trying to work out the tightness in it, Ray stood and pulled on his t-shirt that was lying on the floor from the previous night before making his way to the kitchen where Neela was making them breakfast.

Walking over to her he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down, kissing her on the neck. Resting his chin lightly on her shoulder he asked,

"So where are we going today?"

Lifting her hand up to his cheek, Neela poured out two cups of coffee with her other hand as she replied,

"Probably Target...I think we might need some new shower curtains anyway..._someone _half ripped the other ones down yesterday", she replied with a mock glare, remembering the heated session in the shower.

Ignoring the glare Ray kissed her on the cheek before saying with a smile,

"Want a repeat show before we go out?"

Shaking her head, Neela turned around her kissed him before taking his hand and saying,

"Well, since they're already ruined"

XXXXX

"Do we have this?" Ray asked as he held up a copy of "Silence of the Lambs" up at Neela, the latter shaking her head as she said,

"Probably since you're some sort of horror movie junkie"

Shrugging his shoulders he set it back to where he got it before pushing their very heavy and very full shopping cart down the aisle after Neela. _So much for coming out for a few things _Ray thought as he looked at half of the stuff that they were buying.

A lot of it was crap stuff, well in Ray's opinion anyway, such as pillow covers, duvets and the likes. He wished that they had just gone to the jumbo mart instead as then there would have been less temptation for Neela to buy more things than they actually needed and then they could have been tucked up in bed together already.

"We're almost done" Neela said with a smile, almost as if she had read his mind.

Nodding his head and trying to suppress the smile on his face Ray followed Neela for the next ten minutes as she picked up a few more items they needed and tossed them into the cart before they made their way the check-out.

XXXXX

It was later that evening and Neela and Ray were curled up on the couch together, Neela's head resting on Ray's chest as they watched an old movie. Moving slightly to get more comfortable, Ray groaned slightly in pain as the muscles in his leg tightened, pain shooting up his leg.

"What is it?" Neela asked as she moved so that she was no longer lying on Ray but sitting so that she could look him in the face.

Shaking his head, Ray leaned forward and massaged the back of his right leg, much like he had done earlier that morning, as he said, "Nothing, just a little sore", looking up a Neela with a small smile to show her that it was nothing serious.

Feeling that it was her fault for dragging him out all day, Neela lifted his leg so that it was lying across her lap and began to rub the back of his leg, Ray looking at her with a raised eyebrow as he said,

"You don't have to do that"

But Neela just shook her head as she said, "I know, I want to...you look after me whenever I'm sick so let me look after you now. You just lie back and relax", turning her head to look at him with a smile as he smiled back at her before doing as she said and lying back against the pillows, one hand behind his head, the other lying across his stomach.

After a few minutes his leg felt better, and Ray was going to sit back up again when he felt Neela moving his hand further up his leg slowly.

"Neela" Ray said in a soft voice, just above a whisper.

"Yes?" Neela replied, her hand at the bottom of his thigh and slowly moving upwards, a small smile on her face. She knew exactly what she was doing to him, the rise and fall of his chest faster as she moved higher up his leg. Usually Ray was the one who got her worked up, and Neela had to admit she loved knowing that she could make him react this way.

Closing his eyes, Ray bit his lip before saying,

"Nothing" Hell, who would he be kidding if he said he wasn't enjoying the attention she was giving him, and he would be mad to ask her to stop.

XXXXX

Ray and Neela where lying beside each other on the couch, wrapping in blanket. Ray's head was on Neela's chest, his eyes closed as she ran her fingers through his hair, kissing him lightly on the forehead before whispering,

"I love you, you know that"

Lifting her hand up to his mouth his kissed her wrist, feeling her pulse beating beneath before replying,

"I love you too"

As they lay together both of them thought how they wished that they could stay like that forever, wrapping up in each other's arms.

**A/N – I hope that you liked the chapter and please let me know what you think!**


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